Ajey: The Untold Story of a Yogi

Ajey: The Untold Story of a Yogi is a 2025 Indian Hindi-language political drama film, directed by Ravindra Gautam and produced by Ritu Mengi under the banner of Samrat Cinematics. The film, officially released on 19 September, 2025, is inspired by Shantanu Gupta's book The Monk Who Became Chief Minister, and stars Anant Joshi as Yogi Adityanath, the incumbent chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.. It received mixed reviews from the critics and became a box office bomb.

Plot

The film follows the journey of a boy from the hills of Uttar Pradesh who went on to become one of India's most influential political leaders. It traces his transformation from a quiet, introverted child into a Yogi, and later, a reformist politician. Through his struggles, bold decisions, and unwavering leadership, the story explores how he overcame challenges to ultimately lead India's largest state.

Cast

Anant Joshi as Yogi, based on Yogi Adityanath
Paresh Rawal as Yogi's Guru, based on Mahant Avaidyanath
Dinesh Lal Yadav
Ankur Thakur, as Mushtaq Ansari, brother of Mushtaq Ahmed
Ajay Mengi as Raghu, a devotee of Matha
Pavan Malhotra
Garima Vikrant
Rajesh Khattar as Mushtaq Ahmed, a mafia member
Sarwar Ahuja
Bhagwan Tiwari
Jatin Negi
Akash Mahamana as Bala, a devotee of Matha

Production

Development

The concept for the film originated from Shantanu Gupta's 2017 book. Following the book's success, Gupta collaborated with Priyank Dubey, a film industry associate, to develop the book into a film and started working on the story.

Filming

Principal photography for the film commenced in 2024 across various locations in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, aiming to authentically depict Yogi Adityanath's journey from his birthplace to his political career. The filmmakers emphasized maintaining factual accuracy and cultural sensitivity throughout the production process. Filming was completed by May 2025, with the project entering post-production.

Release

The first motion poster of the film was released on 26 March 2025.

Theatrical

The film was scheduled for a worldwide theatrical release on 1 August 2025. But it was not released as CBFC denied certification to the film. After the certification from CBFC, the film is scheduled to release on 19 September 2025.

Box office

Made with a budget of almost 15 crore, the movie earned 1.5 crore during the first week since its release.

Reception

Himanshi Tiwari from India TV gave the film 3 stars out of 5, praising the performances, direction, screenplay, cinematography and background score. Rishabh Suri from Hindustan Times gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5 and praised the cinematography and performances, while feeling the film struggled under the weight of its own ambition.