The Sabarmati Report (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – Showcases the events following the morning of February 27, 2002, aboard the Sabarmati Express near the Godhra railway station in Gujarat

My Take – Films based on tragedies are indeed hard to recreate, especially if they are not handled with the required sensitivity, without harming the harmony particularly between two communities.

As a staunch citizen of India, I believe I did the right thing by being among the few who boycotted propaganda pieces like The Kashmir Files (2022) and The Kerala Story (2023), ultimate money spinners that rode all the way to success by propagating Islamophobia. Something which I was hoping this latest investigative drama was hoping to avoid.

Based on the Godhra train burning incident of 27 February 2002, in which two coaches of the Sabarmati Express were set on fire, and 59 people, all Hindu devotees returning from Ayodhya, were burnt alive. A horrifying tragedy which lead to the large scale Gujarat riots, which saw even more widespread hate and severe violence.

Here, director Dheeraj Sarna tries to find a balance and put the blame on individuals with a twisted mentality, rather than an entire community, sadly, his ambitious attempt to be both a tribute to the lives lost and an exposé on the justice denied, results in something that is unfortunately both shoddy in presentation and execution.

Though it poses tough questions about truth, media bias, and historical justice, it can’t help but feel like a missed opportunity due to its non-nuanced approach, especially when it gets into the divide between English and vernacular journalists.

Yes, the core idea had the potential to provoke thought and conversation, but the lack of emotional depth and insistence of delivering bombast entertainment (it is after all produced by Balaji Motion Pictures) turns it into a forgettable experience.

Also, the inclusion of a clip from the Ram Mandir inauguration at the end feels misplaced and detracts from the original narrative. The choice comes across as unrelated to the core theme of the film and a move meant to appease the current government.

Beginning at a trial, the story follows Samar Kumar (Vikrant Massey), who is being accused of attempting to create disharmony by digging up about the Godhra incident. Years ago, Samar was a Delhi-based broadcast Hindi journalist reluctantly covering celebrity gossip for EBT News. However, fate, or rather, newsroom politics, reroutes him to Godhra with the network’s poised English anchor, Manika Rajpurohit (Riddhi Dogra).

There, Samar stumbles into a web of “news management” that shakes his journalistic faith, ultimately costing him his job. Five years later, Samar, still disillusioned but guilt-ridden, teams up with Amrita Gill (Raashii Khanna), a zealous newcomer, to investigate the very incident that once cost him his career. Together, they set out to challenge the official version, suspecting an orchestrated conspiracy.

The film moves from 2002, at the time of the incident, to 2007, when Samar tries to uncover the truth and is being tried in court, to 2017, when the Gujarat High Court upheld the verdict of the trial court that claimed that it was a planned attack and not an accident.

Here, director Sarna designs the film as an investigation into the incident as well as an exhausting take down of the Indian media. While he does well in keeping the movie tightly bound within a two-hour runtime, successfully maintaining engagement and moving the plot forward with a focused pace.

However the extreme mainstream approach to the narrative and the inclusion of a few random scenes which have no correlation to the matter at hand, deter the intended impact.

Mostly, for all its daring, the docudrama format often slips into theatricality, with scenes feeling unnaturally staged. There is a studied approach not to offend any community even while narrating the truth. However, certain scenes do exactly that.

At least, the performances are stellar across the board. Vikrant Massey once again proves his versatility, seamlessly embodying his character with nuance and depth. Whether you align to the ideology of the film is different, but as a viewer, one can definitely appreciate his performance in a role that embodies the struggles and moral conflicts of a journalist caught between truth and consequences.

Ridhi Dogra, as always, carries herself well as the arrogant, self-styled diva and shines throughout. The amazing Raashii Khanna adds a layer of strength and complexity to the narrative, working as a breath of fresh air that lights up the screen even in the dourest scenes. On the whole, ‘The Sabarmati Report‘ is a faulty investigation drama that struggles to walk the line between diplomacy and spectacle.