Tag: true-crime

Wild Wild Country

Genres: Documentary

Directed by: Chapman Way and Maclain Way

The six-part series was released in 2018, starring Philip Toelkes, Jane Stork, and Ma Anand Sheela as themselves.

The documentary presents the story of Osho, the world’s most controversial guru, who built a utopian city for his followers deep in Oregon Country. It explores how he became entangled in a national scandal that ultimately led to his death.

The documentary features interviews with Osho’s faithful followers who believed in him until the end, as well as those who claim to know the dark truth about him. The series also delves into the journey of his devoted commander, Ma Anand Sheela, his former spokesperson, who shielded her Bhagwan for an extended period.

This series unfolds the story of a mother- Jane Stork, who was captivated by the words of a distant figure and how she eventually reconnected with her roots.

It is a narrative about people whose lives were affected by intruders who bulldozed their way into their neighborhood and refused to leave. The series explores themes of loyalty, politics, deceit, power, and the sheer determination of an entire community that rallied against those they perceived as invaders.

“I am not going to give you a destination. I can only give you a direction – awake, throbbing with life, unknown, always surprising, unpredictable. I’m not going to give you a map. I can give you only a great passion to discover.” – Osho

These are the lines you will find if you visit the Osho Foundation, which continues to thrive. Osho, formerly known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, introduced ‘Dynamic Meditation’ and was labeled a ‘Sex Guru’ due to his statements. The documentary begins after Bhagwaan Rajneesh has moved from Jabalpur to Pune and established his center there, with foreigners pouring in steadily.

Ma Anand Sheela describes her first meeting with Bhagwaan as love at first sight. Notably, she was seventeen when she first met Bhagwaan Rajneesh but soon surpassed others to become his secretary.

Sheela, in all her statements, vehemently declares that everything she did was either to protect Bhagwan or to fulfill his desires.

Parallelly, the documentary recounts the experiences of both Philip and Jane, explaining how they left their homes to meet the guru who promised enlightenment.

After moving to Oregon, the documentary begins to follow the accounts of locals who were suspicious and unhappy as a large number of Rajneeshis arrived in their quiet town and created a commotion. The show depicts both sides: the locals opposed to the idea of open sex and the cult leader they believe to be evil, while the Rajneeshis stand firm, considering the locals bigots who want to oppress them due to religious differences.

In all six parts, the documentary attempts to capture every angle of the story, doing a commendable job as far as documentaries go.

The transition of people seeking inner peace and enlightenment to individuals involved in bioterror attacks and bombings is inconceivable, but one needs to watch and understand it. Whether you choose to believe the words is up to you, as you can always verify the facts.

The series remains open, avoiding an attempt to validate one truth or justify anything. It presents the raw actions and emotions of people on opposing sides, both believing they are protecting their own families.

Curry & Cyanide – The Jolly Joseph Case

Maturity Rating: U/A 13+
Genres: Documentaries

Directed by Christo Tomy

The new series was released on Netflix on December 22. The true crime documentary is based on the case of Jolly Joseph, who killed six people in cold blood for power and greed, and she was arrested in 2019. The murders were suspected of being done using cyanide.

The series features interviews with people related to Jollyamma Joseph, and their accounts of the crime span over eighteen years. Jollyamma Joseph belongs to a family of farmers from Kattappana in the Idukki district of Kerala and has the dream of living a luxurious life.

Jollyamma, aka Jolly, got married to Roy Thomas in 1997 and moved to Koodathayi in Kozhikode. Jolly’s mother-in-law Annamma, from the start, had been very vocal about her desire for Jolly to pursue a career. Annamma died in 2002, and at the time, it was ruled as cardiac arrest, but a decade after her death in 2019, Jolly was suspected of killing her when she got arrested for the death of her first husband Roy.

The second victim of Jolly was her father-in-law, and his death, even though it raised some heckles, the family hadn’t suspected any foul play. It was after the death of Roy that his uncle Manjadiyali raised some suspicions and demanded an autopsy. It was found he died of cyanide, but Jolly convinced everyone that the case shouldn’t move forward as it was a suicide and it would impact the mental health of her children.

Jolly knew Manjadiyali was one hurdle that kept creating obstacles for her, thus she killed him as well.

All these deaths occurring in this family have made Rojo and Renji, Roy’s brother and sister, extremely wary of Jolly. But the final nail in the coffin is done when Jolly kills Sily and Alphine, the wife and two-year-old daughter of Shaju, a man with whom Jolly was attracted. At the funeral of Sily, Renji saw the facade that Jolly had created, and she began the investigation on her own to find a discrepancy in the postmortem report of Roy and the story Jolly had weaved during his death. Renji and Rojo filed the case, which led to Jolly’s arrest.

The documentaries touched on what was the aspiration of Jolly in committing these crimes, how she did it, and the other suspects in this case. The series has the interview of the son of Jolly as well, who recounts the horror his life became due to his mother.

A story of betrayal, greed, lust, and power that shook Kerala and made us ask the question, has humanity truly left Mother Earth?

Although the series recounts the incidents that led Rojo and Renji to come to terms with the evil lurking in their ancestor’s house, somehow the series lacks in terms of technicality. It’s like we are watching the version of the story from one perspective, and if not for Jolly confessing to the crimes she has been indicted for, the case might have gone in another direction.

The series raises some serious questions about how good Jolly was in her role as an obedient and respectful citizen of society, and no one ever suspected anything. The police negligence when it comes to not taking action after the post-mortem report of Roy indicated the death wasn’t natural.

The family and community support did play a major role in how Jolly was able to stay out of trouble for eighteen years; the red flags around her that have been ignored are a cry for help. As a society, if we find something odd, it is not that unusual that we just keep it to ourselves.

The series could have shown some real clippings or anything related to real-life incidents for more impact. But overall, it was a good series for true crime lovers in general.