New Delhi, India

The 2002 Godhra train burning incident is one of the darkest incidents in modern-Indian history. In this tragedy, not only did 59 train passengers in coach number S6 lose their lives, but hundreds of other people lost their lives in the brutal communal riots that were triggered across the state of Gujarat after the train burning incident. Over the years, we've got a few movies based on the incident and its aftermath. And, the most recent one to revisit this dark and debatable topic in the celluloid world again is actor Vikrant Massey's The Sabarmati Report.

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Written by Avinash and Arjun and directed by Ranjan Chandel, the movie primarily focuses on how the media back then covered the incident, presenting a distorted image to the public. 

Movies based on real-life events have always piqued my interest, and I had high expectations for The Sabarmati Report, especially with Vikrant Massey in the lead. However, the film fell short of expectations, delivering something confusing and melodramatic. 

Story of The Sabarmati Report

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Based on the horrific train-burning incident that occurred at Godhra station on February 27, 2002, the movie revolves around Massey's character Samar Kumar, a young Hindi photojournalist who is eager for a big break during a time when English journalism was considered with high regard. On February 27, Kumar's opportunity finally arrived when he was asked to accompany the top journalist of his news channel Manika Rajpurohit (Riddhi Dogra) to cover the fire incident in Godhra. Under the influence of powerful forces, Manika at a very initial level concludes that the incident is merely an accident.

Samar is deeply affected after witnessing the terrible scenes at Ground Zero and speaking with the victims. He has concluded that the incident was not an accident; rather the coach was set ablaze with specific planning. When his superiors refuse to air the footage he has recorded, Samar ends up confronting them, blaming them for hiding the truth. The story then progresses to the year 2007, when a lot of things have changed. Samar, however, has failed to land any job and is living a lonely life, drowning his sorrows in alcohol. This is when a passionate young journalism student Amrita Gill (played by Raashii Khanna) enters the frame. How she meets Samar and they both team up to investigate the truth of the Godhra fire incident forms the rest of the story.

The Sabarmati Report is not what you think

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The irony of this film is that it's not what you might expect it to be. After watching the trailer and looking at the posters, I thought that this movie could be a thrilling and hard-hitting watch. However, that was not the case.

The movie keeps you gripped in the few starting scenes, but as the story progresses, interest begins to wane as too many things start coming in. While I understand that the makers aimed to maintain a light and humorous atmosphere, is it necessary when you are dealing with such a grim topic? What's the point if the story fails to create the impact? Also, the propaganda scenes that the creators have tried to subtly infuse into this movie are the most irritating.

What works and what does not

Written by Avinash and Arjun, the movie is based on the massacre that led to major communal riots in Gujarat and changed the fabric of Indian politics thereon. So instead of understanding the seriousness of the topic, the makers have presented the film in a melodramatic way with cringe representation and dialogues. The point where this movie lacks is the story, it may have looked interesting on paper, presenting the media's point of view of the entire incident. But it didn't frame out well on the screen. Additionally, some scenes in the film make you question where the movie is headed.

Vikrant is known for his prolific work, and like many times before, he has again gotten deep into this character. The entire movie heavily relies on his shoulder, and he has done his part perfectly. Supporting Vikrant, the other cast members including Riddhi Dogra and Raashii Khanna have also given decent performances. 

The Sabarmati Report works only for those who love Vikrant Massey the actor. However, despite having such an interesting topic, the movie ends up like a propaganda piece, playing to the gallery.