4 min readFeb 22, 2026 07:28 AM IST
First published on: Feb 22, 2026 at 07:28 AM IST
In a suit filed in the Delhi High Court, yoga guru Ramdev has objected to posts on Facebook and X that use his persona as a source of amusement and parody for comic relief to “generate audience engagement”. Citing “personality rights”, his counsel argued against “misleading and denigrating content” while X’s legal team contended that political commentary, satire and public opinion must be protected. Noting that it’s an impossible task removing everything someone famous finds insulting, the HC held firm that “we can’t be so sensitive”. And, that it was perfectly alright to fact check fake news on Baba Ramdev, as someone had done. Ramdev’s net worth is around Rs 1600 crore, derived mainly from his wellness business Patanjali Ayurved which is now a major FMCG entity.
Whatever Ramdev is or isn’t, it’s impossible not to have a grudging sort of admiration for someone who’s made his fortune parading around unselfconsciously in an orange loincloth, proudly displaying his hirsute body, while holding forth on everything from corruption to entrepreneurship. His grand claims of miraculous cures have been discredited as appalling nonsense but he has got away virtually consequence-free because a gullible public bought into “Coronil”, Patanjali’s magic potion to cure Covid. In one video on YouTube that’s been viewed a few lakh times, two comedians are having a field day replaying Ramdev’s contempt for the Covid vaccine while peddling his own concoctions instead. Since then, Patanjali has been pulled up by the Supreme Court — they had to issue an unconditional apology for deceitful practices, a Delhi court restrained them from terming other companies’ Chyawanprash as “dhoka”, and, they’ve been fined for selling substandard ghee.
None of this seems to have affected Patanjali’s bottomline or diminished the Guru’s cult-like stature. Considering so many serious misdemeanours, a lesser mortal would prefer to slink into the background to safeguard the crores he’s already accumulated, but not Ramdev, who’s marching valiantly ahead, undeterred, busy filing complaints against people making jokes about him.
It turns out no one’s too rich or too successful to take offence; and it’s one of the few pitfalls of the limelight that one must grin and bear other peoples’ unflattering opinions, which they tend to pronounce on the Internet with delighted glee. Those wondering why Ramdev would care that inconsequential jokesters are poking fun at him don’t get the psychology of stardom. From being a nobody to becoming a household name is some journey in one lifetime, and anyone even slightly self reflective will have moments of disbelief, a k a the Imposter Syndrome. Could this rockstar really be me? By virtue of luck more than strategy, the myth of Ramdev soared with the symbolic revival of the greatness of ancient India. At this particular moment in history, when popular opinion is a force of such unprecedented power, Ramdev was recast as the gatekeeper of tradition, especially yoga. After so much feting and accolades, it’s unpleasant to be objectively evaluated, and discover that one’s own embellished narrative is making a smattering of people at least squeal with laughter.
All the money in the world can’t make up for the fact that the very insecurities we strive so hard to hide are so cringingly visible and a cause of cheer to others. One imagines though, a yogi is made of sterner stuff; the rest of us by force of circumstance have imbibed the wisdom that what other people think of you is none of your business. But whether you’re Ramdev or a random person, it’s always a gut punch to discover that everyone doesn’t view you in the same dreamy, soft light you imagine they do. That, at some point, we all fall short of the expectations of others, is one of the many disillusionments of being alive, besides the more humbling reality, that fame may enshrine a chosen few in a halo of otherworldliness but that too, is unlikely to last.
The writer is director, Hutkay Films
