On November 15, Vikrant Massey’s The Sabarmati Report was released in theatres. Based on actual events surrounding the burning of the Sabarmati Express in Godhra, the film was directed by Dheeraj Sarna and produced by Shobha Kapoor, Ekta R. Kapoor, Amul V. Mohan, and Anshul Mohan. Reviews from the general public have been conflicting, with viewers expressing differing viewpoints on the film.
59 people, many of them women and children, tragically died when multiple coaches of the Sabarmati Express caught fire at Godhra station on February 27, 2002. There were several ‘karsevaks’ on the train from Ayodhya to Ahmedabad who were returning from an event that was sponsored by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Four coaches were reported to have visible flames, but coach 6, where the fatalities occurred, sustained the most damage.
Three days of rioting broke out in Gujarat after this horrifying event, with multiple reports putting the dead toll at above 2,000. The state government-appointed Nanavati-Mehta Commission came to the conclusion that a sizable Muslim crowd intentionally set fire to the building. But the central government’s one-member Banerjee Commission, which was established in 2004, ruled that the fire was an accident.
These two conclusions are widely separated, and your beliefs are mostly determined by whatever extreme you are on. Despite the flurry of conspiracy ideas from various communities, one thing is clear: India’s social and political structure was severely altered by the riots, which were among the worst in the nation’s history.
The movie opens with a humorous introduction of Vikrant Massey, a dedicated photojournalist employed by a media company. He has the chance to report on the massacre at the Sabarmati Express. He discovers that the occurrence was not an accident but rather the result of a purposeful act committed by members of a specific group when he follows his employer and does ground-level journalism. His immediate superior, Manika Rajpurohit (Riddhi Dogra), an English-speaking editor who is also aware that the assertion that only two Sabarmati Express carriages unintentionally caught fire is false, is informed of his findings. In spite of this, she offers a fair report that supports the official government’s position.
The movie emphasises that there are never true allies or enemies in politics or even in journalism. The dynamics of power and influence are demonstrated by The Sabarmati Express, which illuminates secret meetings between the government and the media. It challenges the narrative we’ve been fed for years, which the movie implies is far from the reality, by convincing the viewer that the tragedy was a planned slaughter committed by members of a specific group.
A key character in The Sabarmati Report is Vikrant Massey. Vipin Agnihotri Films, Vikir Films Production, and Balaji Motion Pictures are the project’s producers.
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