The Sabarmati Report, featuring a song written by lyricist Prem Dhawan and sung by Mika instead of Mukesh, presents a scene where the Muslim population in Ahmedabad celebrates India’s victory over Pakistan in a cricket match with fireworks. This film focuses on the Godhra incident, following closely on the heels of “Accident or Conspiracy: Godhra,” released in July. With Ranvir Shorey and Manoj Joshi as the most prominent stars, this earlier film inevitably draws comparisons. The timing of two films on the same subject seems far from coincidental, reminiscent of similar parallel releases like “Toofan” and “Jadugar” during Amitabh Bachchan’s era, “Dangal” and “Sultan” during Salman and Aamir Khan’s time, and the current “Devara” and “Kanguva.”
An IIMC Graduate’s Story
The film follows a cameraman who graduates from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) and lands a job covering entertainment news for a major Hindi news channel. When sent to cover the Godhra train fire incident alongside a star reporter, he captures testimonies from victims that could have changed the narrative entirely. These testimonies, recorded on DVC tape and later transferred to Beta format, eventually reach a young female journalist who sets out to find the Hindi journalist.
The Moral Dilemma of a Displaced Journalist
The story portrays the Hindi journalist’s descent into alcoholism after losing his job, showing him stealing from his domestic help and taking up dubbing work to survive. The film repeatedly emphasizes the lack of respect for Hindi journalists in society, building up to a climax where this same journalist debunks an English channel’s reporting. Like its predecessor “Accident or Conspiracy: Godhra,” the film references the Nanavati Commission report and Supreme Court judgments, reminding viewers about the 59 Ram devotees who were burned alive in Godhra.
Direction and Production
While initially directed by Rajan Chandel, Anurag Kashyap’s former assistant, the film was largely reshot under Dhiraj Sarna when it faced censor board issues. Sarna, known for “Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki” and writing “Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon,” attempts to create a docudrama within given constraints, effectively conveying the court-established fact of the planned fire in the S-6 bogey.
Performance and Technical Aspects
Vikrant Massey, fresh from “12th Fail’s” success, leads the cast but struggles to show character progression over the film’s 15-year timeline beyond mere hair color changes. Riddhi Dogra plays a bold English journalist, while Raashi Khanna portrays a truth-seeking reporter. Nazneen Patel delivers an impactful performance in her brief role. However, the film suffers from production design issues, including inconsistent language usage and unrealistic train compartment scenes.
The film attempts to balance its narrative by showing contemporary India where Muslims celebrate national cricket victories, but stumbles in maintaining this equilibrium. Despite its focus on Hindi journalism’s dignity, the film ironically contains numerous Hindi language errors in its on-screen text.
The Sabarmati Report serves as a reminder of a tragic historical event but fails to surpass its recent predecessor in storytelling effectiveness.
