Balaji Motion Pictures and Vikir Films’ The Sabarmati Report (UA) is, as the title suggests, about the Godhra train carnage in which 59 innocent people were burnt alive in a train coming from Ayodhya.
Samar Kumar (Vikrant Massey) is a conscientious Hindi journalist who works for the EBT TV news channel. An entertainment reporter, he gets a chance to assist popular TV hostess Manika Rajpurohit (Riddhi Dogra) for the crime story of the Godhra fire in Sabarmati Express train in February 2002. Manika is a senior name in the same channel. To Samar’s horror, Manika gives a false account of what transpired at Godhra station and although he has footage of the actual account of what the survivors told him, the TV bosses don’t use that footage. On top of it, he is thrown out of the job when he dares to question the tops in his channel. He realises that they have all taken sides for their own gain.
Five years later, a new reporter — Amrita (Raashi Khanna) — in the same TV channel lays her hands on the footage which had been collected by Samar in 2002. She contacts him and together they debunk the theory that the fire in the train was a mere accident.
The story is based on real incidents that happened in 2002 and shook the entire nation. Avinash Singh Tomar and Arjun Bhandegaonkar have jointly written a fast-paced screenplay which keeps the audience’s interest alive. But by its very nature, the drama has limited appeal as it would be lapped up more by the class audience. The screenplay is lopsided as the writers haven’t gone into the reason why members of a community set the train bogie afire. The aftermath of the Godhra incident has also not at all been discussed. Likewise, it is not clarified who dragged Samar Kumar to court and why. A major minus point for the audience is that since the horrific incident had made headline news for days together when it transpired, there is no novelty in the drama for all those who were witness to those headlines. The ending is hurried and also not very convincing, especially the portion in which Amrita starts recording her story without approval from her seniors. However, the first half and a good part of the post-interval portion are well written if one were to overlook the omissions. Dheeraj Sarna’s dialogues, with additional dialogues by Avinash Singh Tomar and Arjun Bhandegaonkar, are very real and impactful.
Vikrant Massey is outstanding in the role of journalist Samar Kumar. He performs so extraordinarily that it’s a delight to watch him. It would not be wrong to say that he lives the role with perfection. Raashi Khanna is excellent as journalist Amrita. Her acting is natural. Riddhi Dogra delivers a first-rate performance as the arrogant television hostess, Manika Rajpurohit. Barkha Singh lends good support as Samar’s girlfriend, Shloka. Syed Naiyar Abbas Jafri leaves a mark as TV channel head Raman Talwar. Digvijay Purohit is nice as Rajeev. Abhishant Rana makes his mark as Arun Badra. Urvashi Golter (as Sadia Banu), Prapti Mehta (as Sadia Banu’s sister) and Neela Patel (as Sadia Banu’s mother) are natural. Prince Ali is adequate as Sajid Batla. Nazneen Patni has her moments as Mehrunisa. Milind Pathak is good as the EBT advocate. Masood Akhtar makes his presence amply felt in the role of maulvi Habib. Aparna Menon is adequate as Samar’s lawyer. Milind Joshi makes his mark as the Tis Hazari court judge. Diwakar Prasad Dhyani leaves a fine mak as Mishraji. Badrul Islam is fair as Saddam Supariwala. Sundip Ved (as the senior minister) is impactful. Others provide the desired support.
Dheeraj Sarna’s direction is sensitive. Music and lyrics are functional. Ketan Sodha’s background music is effective. Amalendu Chaudhary and Stanley Mudda do a fine job of the cinematography. Aejaz Gulab’s action and stunts are appropriate. Rajat Poddar’s production designing, and Mohammad Salim Khulbat Ali Shah’s art direction are of a fine standard. Manan A. Sagar’s editing is sharp.
On the whole, The Sabarmati Report is a well-made film with some truly wonderful performances, but lack of novelty and a dated subject will work against it. Also, there may be viewers who will find the narration one-sided and incomplete. It, therefore, has limited appeal and will do well only in select multiplexes of big cities.
Released on 15-11-’24 at Inox (daily 4 shows) and other cinemas of Bombay thru Zee Studios. Publicity: fair. Opening: dull. …….Also released all over. Opening was okay in some multiplexes but weak otherwise.