Sabarmati Report Review: Vikrant Massey and Others' Solid Performances Help Keep This Intriguing Film on Track Despite Mid-Section Detours.
It seems this Friday is all about cinematic explorations of events that changed the course of Indian history. Nikkhil Advani's series Freedom at Midnight and Dharmendra Sharma's The Sabarmati Report.
Vikrant Massey, after the brilliant 12th Fail, is back to zero, as he mentioned in it. This film is based on the horrific Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002, where dozens of people were burnt alive.
The interesting thing about the plot here is that it starts from the POV of a local reporter, Samar Kumar (Massey), who is attached to a news channel’s entertainment beat. He is asked to take over camera duties for the channel’s star ‘English reporter’, the stern Manika Rajpurohit (Radhika Apte). The difference in treatment of journalists from the two languages is an important theme.
They cover the Godhra train incident on the ground and discover it wasn’t an accident. But Samar is shocked when Manika’s reporting claims otherwise. He presents his news channel with a tape with the victims’ testimonies, but they refuse to air it, claiming it’s their property. He quits journalism, and what happens next is the rest of the plot.
The first half of the film is well-paced, maintaining a back-and-forth interest between Manika and Samar. The conflict feels genuine and believable. Vikrant finds his space—stories where the system tries to suppress his character, but he emerges victorious in the end. In the process, he undergoes a metamorphosis and gets at least one monologue in the screenplay. And we’re not complaining about his template anymore because it’s effective. Radhika has a good screen presence and doesn’t go overboard with the haughtiness she needs to emote.
The second half of the screenplay, written by Ovinash Singh Tomar and Arjun Bhandegaonkar, is where things get messy. The story of truth-seeking is repeated with Rishi Khanna’s character Amrita Gul and Samar’s investigation. After a point, you stop caring. The film picks itself up in the final scene where Massey breaks the fourth wall and gives an identity to the 59 people who lost their lives in the Godhra incident.
The Sabarmati Report consciously stays away from using too many ‘Hindu’ and ‘Muslim’ tags. Although there is an attempt at some subtle messaging in the film. A scene sample where a ‘mysterious character’ meeting the news channel team is given a hero’s entry. It takes away from the seriousness of the subject. There is also a desire from the makers to have some light banter between Samar and Amrita in places—which again, doesn’t fit. The background score by KSO Audio Works isn’t right.
Verdict: Overall, The Sabarmati Report is an interesting take on something that shook India, the effects of which can still be felt today. It goes off the road somewhere in the middle, making us question its intentions a couple of times, but finds its way back on track by the climax. Decent performances help.
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