Story: The biopic follows the journey of Lakshman Narayan Sharma, better known and revered as Baba Neeb Karori or Neem Karoli Baba. It explores his origins, spiritual awakening, miracles, and the love he had for his devotees.
Review: Directed by Sharad Singh Thakur, the film portrays how a child born into a rich zamindar family in 1900 transformed into a spiritual guru and the founder of Kainchi Dham ashram, spreading the message of devotion to countless spiritual seekers. Much of the focus is on the miracles he performed. This is evident from the film’s opening sequence, when his handwritten word, ‘Ram’, magically appears in his disciple Prof Sudhir Mukherjee’s book as his wife remembers him with devotion. Thereon, the film presents incidents such as healing burn wounds with just a touch, replenishing food so that no devotee goes hungry, and even his avatar as Shiva meditating in a cave.
The film’s production is mounted on a grand scale, with decent AI-generated visuals, especially the Shiva sequence. The narrative, however, lacks a cohesive flow. It follows a non-linear storyline and often becomes challenging to understand the chronology of events. From the guru’s later years, it moves to his younger days as a travelling sadhu responsible for establishing Kainchi Dham Ashram. The narrative also feels overlong and monotonous in parts, as it presents one anecdote after another and introduces one to his ardent followers. The second half, in particular, unfolds at a slow pace, and many scenes needed tighter trims to reduce the runtime and make the storytelling more engaging.
The good parts about the film are how it balances spiritualism with humanity. It encourages pure devotion without getting preachy, overly religious, or taking the moral high ground. There’s a track where Baba asks one of his followers, Tularam Sah (Avinash Wadhawan), to quit smoking, but not Mukherjee, as he senses the repercussions it will have on the former’s health. The narrative does not dub it immoral. Similarly, he shows respect for another Baba and encourages Mukherjee to go for his darshan. These moments make the portrayal warmer and more accessible.
Subodh Bhave plays Maharaj Ji during the later phase of his life and is convincing in each scene. Whether as a spiritual guide or a compassionate guru, Bhave pulls off the role well. The younger Baba is played by Mohit Gupta, who is also decent in the role. Smita Tambe as Kamala Didi, Samiksha Batnagar as Siddhi Maa, Varsha Manikchand as Bhakti Maa, Hiten Tejwani as Raboo Dada, Rajesh Sharma as Dada Mukherji, Anirudh Dave as Jeevan Dada, and Milind Gunaji as the child Maharaj Ji’s zamindar father Durgaprasad Sharma lend able support.
Despite its sincerity, the film’s uneven structure and stretched runtime limit its impact. It will appeal mainly to devotees of Maharaj Ji or those who enjoy devotional narratives centred on faith, miracles, and spiritual surrender.