Prakash Jha on future of Bobby Deol-fronted Aashram: ‘I wish to only be a mentor for season 4’

Bobby Deol in Aashram. Pic/Facebook

In chronicling a list of the anticipated OTT offerings of 2025, several platforms aptly pointed to the Bobby Deol-fronted conman show, Aashram, which was lapped up by audiences upon its August 2020 release owing to its gritty narrative. Three seasons in, Prakash Jha's directorial venture has amassed a loyal fan base that keeps track of the show's forthcoming episodes. Evidently then, when news relating to another season hit headlines, it gave fans reason to rejoice. However, a source close to the production tells mid-day that the glimpses of the new content circulating online do not belong to the fourth season.

"What has been shot is part of season three itself. It took time to release these episodes because of the merger between [OTT platforms] MX Player and Amazon," says the source, highlighting that the 10 episodes that are available in the third season are only part of the 15-episode series that was initially shot. "The remaining five episodes, what we're calling Aashram 3.5, are ready to be released and will be aired this year after a formal announcement on the new channel belonging to the merged platforms. The new episodes will see Baba Nirala, aka Monty Singh [Deol], confronting his past ghosts. It will include glimpses of his past experiences that shaped his current status and those that will influence his future actions. It will also showcase Pammi's [Aaditi Pohankar] agenda and where her desire for revenge leads her, as well as Sonia's [Esha Gupta] true intentions. After Baba Nirala lands in jail at the end of season three, we will see that despite his imprisonment, he continues to manipulate people."

Prakash Jha

Jha tells mid-day that while he doesn't know when the new episodes will be released, he is aware that Amazon is keen to take the franchise ahead. "The five episodes that are set to be released will reveal that, aashram zinda hai. We are still talking about season four. A fresh story has been written for it, but I have told the team that while I will mentor it, somebody else must direct that. However, it all depends on the [decision taken by] the platform. We're yet to see how things will pan out."

Jha, in the meanwhile, has a political drama series titled Sankalp in his kitty. Starring Nana Patekar, Zeeshan Ayyub, Neeraj Kabi and Sanjay Kapoor, the show is produced along with Jio Studios, and the release platform is yet to be announced.