Know the Baba Ramdev's Yog Yatra | Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev

Swami Ramdev, popularly known as Baba Ramdev was born in 1965 in Alipur in the Mahendragarh district in the Indian state of Haryana. Ramdev is an Indian, Hindu swami and is particularly well known for his efforts to popularize yoga. His yoga camps see a large attendance of his followers. The Baba is also one of the founders of the "Divya Yoga Mandir Trust" that aims at promoting yoga among the masses.

Baba Ramdev’s Yog Yatra

Yog Yatra is a 90-minute documentary film based on the lives of Baba Ramdev and his close associate, Acharya Balkrishna. The biopic is being dubbed in 13 languages and there are talks going on with other channels and to telecast this biopic of Ramdev.

Written and directed by renowned cinematographer, Kavita Chowdhary, the film has Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna playing themselves. Ramdev is the founder of the brand Patanjali while his close aide Balkrishna, who is equally responsible in developing the brand, is designated with post of Managing Director.

What is Yog Yatra all about?

• The film shows how Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balakrishna started their journeys.
• It starts with Ramdev’s childhood and goes on to show how he battled against paralysis. He was born in a family of a poor farmer in Haryana.
• It then shows how he and his friend Balakrishna had made yoga a significant aspect in their lives and the lives of the others.
• The biopic shows how they ended up being ayurvedic and yoga gurus and how they have both created and popularised the Patanjali brand.
• It talks about the ability to cure people with ayurvedic medicines and yoga.
• The documentary-style film of 90 minutes shows explicitly how the two gurus have been carving their own paths, promoting the health benefits of yoga, the uses of ayurvedic and natural products, and how they have both achieved global success.
• The second-half of the film depicts the vision behind Patanjali and markets various consumer products made under Patanjali brand.
• The film also has few musical numbers.
• At the end, the it tries to tell its viewers on how to deal with different phases of life with ease and joy.
• According to director Kavita Chowdhary, this film is a first of its kind as a branded content deal that any global consumer products manufacturer would give an arm for.

business savviness of Baba Ramdev

The film on Ramdev is important because Ramdev is no ordinary godman. He is the man who is shaking up the FMCG market of India, taking on the big boys at Hindustan Unilever and Nestle. On 28 April, at a press conference, Ramdev showed his way with words, when he said, on being asked about his competitors, “Pantene ka to pant gila hone wala hai, aur do saal me Unilever ka liver kharab ho jayega (Shampoo brand Pantene is going to wet its pants and in two years, Unilever’s liver is going to stop working).” And while commenting on his company eating into the market share of MNCs, he said: “We are totally vegetarian.”

Awards and recognitions

January 2007 Honorary Doctorate, by Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, in recognition of his efforts to popularize the Vedic system/science of Yoga.

March 2010 Honored with Degree of Doctorate of Sciences by Amity University Noida.

April 2010 Honored with honorary degree of Doctor of Science by Dr D. Y. Patil Deemed University.

January 2011 Honored with Sri Chandrashekharendra Saraswati National Eminence Award by Maharashtra Governor K. Shankaranarayanan.

A Strong Brand Ambassador

The fact that Baba Ramdev, a yoga guru himself, promoting the herbal and organic Patanjali products - has proved that celebrity endorsements work if there is a high connect between the endorser and the features of the brand. The Maggi ban last year had showed how brand ambassadors can receive flak in case the brand falters.