Vinay Waikul on working with Sonali Bendre in Broken News, and media's need for course correction

Media is often the most easily abused profession of all, so when we see cinema depicting a newsroom drama that is not dramatised for effect, it’s a welcome change. With Sonali Bendra fronting a role like Amina Qureshi (a seasoned news anchor) and Jaideep Ahlawat as Gaurav Khanna (a TRP-chasing editor) in Vinay Waikul's The Broken News which dropped a new season earlier this month, we quickly got in touch with the director on his vision, working with Sonali Bendre and discussing whether a country’s media can afford to alienate itself from its politics. The Broken News season 2 interestingly dropped at a time when Indians vote to elect their next governmentand media plays a crucial role in tapping the political mood of the country.

Here are the excerpts from our chat:

Q: Cinema is often said to be a true reflection of the current state of society, at least to a certain degree. Do you agree?

A: I think it should be a reflection of our society and not necessarily every time in a political way. My show offers a political reflection as well as the world media’s reflection. I also feel that all characters should be rooted in reality. If you don’t show the true society then what is the point of making something like this? This is how I feel. There could be others who don’t feel the same way.

Whether it’s a book, film, or series, it should have the ability to make people introspect their lives, take a pause and think through their actions andthe impact those actions could have on society.

Q: In context with your show The Broken News, where should we draw the line between fiction and real when it concerns depicting media?

A: I don't think we need to draw a line. It needs to be as seamless as possible. When we're developing a character, it is not based on ‘a’ particular character but a lot of characters come together to make the story happen. The state of media is a true reflection of our society – the way we are, that’s how our media will be, and that’s how our politics will be. Media is like society’s true mirror.

Q: Sonali Bendre plays a headstrong character in the show. What are some things you especially love about the role? How was it directing her? From a 90s film actress to an actress in 2024, how much has changed for women via the lens of a director?

A: Not just Sonali, all our main characters are headstrong. It’s not just me but the writer Sandeep, Nishtha and everyone else in the team of Broken News. As for working with her, it’s been a great pleasure collaborating in both seasons. She's a fabulous actress, and a fabulous human being and the kind of positive energy she brings to the project is commendable.

Sonali has evolved so much. In season 2, so many have been talking about her work, and how well-nuanced and layered her acting was. Also, I must add that she is extremely disciplined.

Q: As we witness the world’s largest democracy go to elections, your show comes at a time when most accuse media of being partisan to politics. How much can the media alienate itself from politics?

A: I mean, it should. It at least shouldn't be partisan. It should focus on presenting facts and nothing else The media shouldn't be presenting their opinions. Right now, the media only gives their opinion and tries to create a narrative. I mean, the editorials can have a point of view. It’s fine to know what the editor thinks but the entire newspaper can't be creating a narrative from the front page headline to the last one. But sadly that’s what is going on at the moment.

I'm not just talking about newspapers but all news channels. Everything has got an agenda and I'm not talking about a particular party. The media needs to point out the shortcomings of anybody who's ruling. That's their primary job.It’s a very sad state of affairs and I don't know how many years it would take to reverse this. If the course correction doesn't happen soon, then I don't know what kind of society we are going to leave for the next generation.

Watch The Broken News season 2 trailer here:

The Broken News season 2 is currentlystreaming on ZEE5.