The Sabarmati Report 2024 Review: A Breath of Fresh Air or a Poorly Fared Propaganda

The Sabarmati Report (Hindi)

Director: Dheeraj Sarna (Replaced Ranjan Chandel)

Cast: Vikrant Massey, Raashii Khanna and Riddhi Dogra

Runtime: 127 minutes

Storyline of The Sabarmati Report

A patriot ‘cum’ vernacular journalist tells the story of what happened on the Sabarmati Express at Godhra railway station in Gujarat on February 27, 2002

The killing of karsevaks by Muslims is considered by the state to be the cause of the post-Godhra violence in Gujarat which claimed over a thousand lives and made thousands of people homeless. Not surprisingly — and glaringly — this aspect of the story does not matter at all in The Sabarmati Report.

While set in the backdrop of two journalists who never talk about the riots, the movie is a dramatized reenactment of the Nanavati-Mehta Commission reportage. The panel was constituted in the wake of the then state government of Gujarat announced interim report in 2008, which describes that the train incident was the act of ‘planned conspiracy’. This was in contrast with the paperwork that has been filed by the Union Railway Ministry that labelled it an ‘accident’.

The incidents of Godhra and its aftermath received coverage in both the English as well as the regional language media (the Nanavati report presents several of these). As much as another film suggested otherwise, this was not the situation here.

It establishes an official enemy – the traitorous, lying English media vs. the real and truthful, Hindi, pro-Hindu journalists. Even though, instead of the fictitious news network that grew during the Recession years—letting the audience reach its own conclusion— the movie pays no attention to local outlets’ part in stoking the flames of communal hatred.

Vikrant Massey New Film

An interesting film about the hither-to-unknown aspects regarding Godhra would have been quite fascinating. Here, occasionally, affect intrudes into the process of investigation. The screenplay is mostly an exercise in the weep factor for those killed during the tragedy, which involved several women and children. At the same time the film goes out of its way to defend and idolize the current power structure.

But the Gujarat CM of circa 2002 is depicted as a woman; Narendra Modi joins the story a little later; the growth phase is on in Gujarat. We also have a Sonia Gandhi impersonator, recently appointed foreign minister, conferring with her allies about how to reap maximum political benefits from the whole affair.

News About The Sabarmati Report

News is the truth which you decide to communicate, a clever TV anchor explains to her inexperienced co-worker at the beginning of The Sabarmati Report. Instead she is the antagonist of the narrative and gives only what is convenient for her and her political affiliations.

Humor in The Sabarmati Report is astounding How a piece of propaganda on a cause obscured as a mission is so rife with these very vices?

This is a shamelessly partisan piece of work directed by Dheeraj Sarna after he had differences with the film’s first director, Ranjit Chandel Regarded as one of the Gujarat riots in February, 2002, 59 kar sevaks returning in a train compartment of the Sabarmati Express from Ayodhya were burned alive at Godhra station.

Whether it was an accident or an attack, the controversy within the cataclysm continued in the wake of yet more violence as further massacres through communal riots occurred.

Absence of responsibulity, bureaucratic inefficiency, bureaucracy, buck shifting, conspiracy theories, delayed verdicts and judgement of courts, media circus and drama, indirect reference to foreign hand, the usual marketing traits were seen with these negative forces in this a black era of Indian history.

Where movies like Parzania or Firaaq try to portray the impacts, the tragedy that is being portrayed in the Sabarmati Report dedicated to the lives which were lost in the act, wastes all its time in blaming one side and exempting the other.

Over the unsaid time cross between 2002, 2007 and 2017 a sad scene abruptly jumps to a court room trial where Vikrant Massy a Hindi speaking Journalist raises fingers at media tycoons of molding facts.

Major part of the movie is a flashback about him a so called investigative journey getting distracted by moments of him showcasing a strictly Kapil Sharma brand of comedy around a girlfriend he gets dumped by when information regarding the Godhra fire which is uncomfortable comes in front of him or a fellow colleague Raashi Khanna who also shares his passion for reporting truth.

For now, both of them are competing against a sassy star anchor named Riddhi Dogra who seems to have attitude of a woman from second season of Call Me Byae.

All three are good actors, though I suppose one cannot argue more so when they believe in it to the point where they are earnest about selling such absolute complete nonsense with such sincerity.

The movie ( The Sabarmati Report) claims to side with both religious groups but its storyline puts it in the middle to shout out loud the evil doers and the oppressed.

Where the ‘minority’ is the face of stone-pelting, mischief-mongering, ‘padosi mulk’ cheering, terrorism breeding aggression, the ‘remaining’ are either victims or an Opposition against the ruling.

It is what makes the script’s brief moments of introspection before it reverts to satisfying the devil all the more ridiculous.

That it was set during the noise and hullabaloo of the elections and that despite its melodious tune it has no room for ambiguity of any sort and begins with ‘Ram Ram’ and ends with ‘Ram Ram’ against the backdrop a newly constructed Ram Mandir.

Despite such egregiousness, The Sabarmati Report is so poorly done, that to take offence to it would be doing it too much credit.

All the continuity blunders reflected in the changing hair and stubble of Vikrant Massey are indicative of this pathetic project from the house of Balaji Films that has put up a pretentious act of being a rebel in crusade when indeed, it is one astute bureaucrat that started out with the vision of being an informed whistleblower but is now happy to be a sycophant for the current regime in power.

Ahead of The Sabarmati Report interview that went viral, actor Vikrant Massey, playing the commentator for a brief moment, discussed his thoughts on the current state of the country. This is what people insist upon, to tell us that Hindus are in peril, Muslims are in peril. Everybody is safe; everything is just fine. This is probably the best country in the world to live in,” he said in a podcast. The innocence which Hindi film actors bring on/toward a potentially volatile scene is always a revelation. It is a balancing act no gymnast or slackliner can begin to contemplate.

Responsibility and accountability is a central issue in The Sabarmati Report. Lo, when a character, an elite, English speaking News anchoress played by Riddhi Dogra argues about journalism being ‘balance and context,’ the I-know-India,. … When the English speaking ‘News’ anchor and character utters the words ‘and balance and context,’ she is promptly hushed by the film’s vernacular hero.

After many years, the same hero now a news reader though in Hindi speaks of a democratic and secular India. Nevertheless, as the man speaks, a bhajan is filmed in the background; the film ends with the shot of Ram Temple renewed in Ayodhya.

It is, however, equally important to note that there is considerable criticism also on the same subject. There are some people who chose to see during the course of time and knowing that Vikrant Massey was raising his stardom with his recent movies, chose to be in Sabarmati Report as a wrong decision. One user said he skipped the heroic script and chose a story that looked familiar, as a hero of 12th Fail. Viewers’ reactions were predominantly negative and this particular viewer was sad and said that it was so badly made.

Social Media Posts About The Sabarmati Report

Another user was discontent with the shown topic in the film which was important but presented in bad quality, they got annoyed by ‘cringe comedy’, loud music in the background and even songs which were not needed. They were of the opinion that such steps were ill-suited for a movie which has a theme of focus and grief as the core subject of the plot, like the Sabarmati one. This viewer said it was like the movie Chhapaak — the movie got its message wrong as well.

Altogether, Sabarmati Report has definitely separated its clients into two halves. There is a subset who term it provocative, an analysis of historical occurrences with candor and there are those who think that it fails in tone and execution. There has also been variable response to Vikrant Massey, some people liked his acting while some despised his choice of project.

Viewer Responses About The Sabarmati Report Film

Such a wide range of responses may be useful for those who want to watch Sabarmati Report to have some expectations. It appears to be a movie that speaks about numerous themes, and yet, probably will not appeal to a wide audience, for the simple reason of not having a conventional screenplay. Such views also suggest that although the picture has the ability to deliver the strong emotions, it might overlook the chosen approach to the story.

Whether this will be lauded as the new attitude that the company needs or whether it will be seen as the company missing the boat is something that time will tell.

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