Synopsis / seeking Indian collaborators

A young Sadhu is said to have some of the siddhis. Many say he is a complete fraud, and at only 40 years old he is much younger than any of the legendary sadhus of former times. (Many of whom were also denounced as frauds.) Also unlike those sadhus, he is an educated man, a university graduate. He is espousing radical social ideas, and is gaining a large following among the poor. That worries the Indian government, both federal and the state in which he reigns. Now there are eyewitness reports of his feats, with videos. Are they deep fakes? As the story unfolds, the Sadhu seems to demonstrate more and more powers. He knows things he should not be able to know. Is he telepathic? Or does he simply have informants? As police close in on him, he seems to magically vanish. Did he escape through a tunnel? Was he never actually at that location in the first place? Or did he teleport? As clashes begin between the government and his followers, the UK government, afraid of a destabilized India, sends an investigator. Now there are reports that some of his inner circle may also be exhibiting siddhic powers. Does the Sadhu really have the best interests of the people at heart? Or is he merely thirsty for power?

What the government does not know, and what the investigator eventually learns, is that the Sadhu has been gaining siddhic powers from a potion made from herbs. The process was invented by a former college friend of the Sadhu who is a chemical engineer. At first it only enhanced mental capabilities, like memory, clarity of thought, and problem-solving. But when the person running the potion making process accidentally set the distillation temperature too high, the potion suddenly scaled up to higher effects.

Notes:
The inclusion of the UK investigator, who is a woman, will be two-fold: to give the movie an international audience, and to add a love interest. So now we will have an international thriller, which can be used as a platform to explore social and economic inequalities in India. The siddhis have interested me for a while, and I’m sure that whole idea will fascinate others as well.

I don’t know enough about India to write this, but with the right co-writer, I believe we could make a movie that both entertains and informs. If the powers that be won’t let it be made in India, the American film industry can shoot it in some neighboring country.

If we write something amazing, and are able to cast Dev Patel…just imagine!