Ekta Kapoor’s secularism stops at The Sabarmati Report – Beyond Bollywood

The Balaji Telefilms head honcho loses more credibility with an agenda driven narrative. The propaganda film reflects poorly on Vikrant Massey, Riddhi Dogra and Raashii Khanna.

By Mayur Lookhar

This is not a review, as we haven’t watched The Sabarmati Report (2024). Buzz has it that the makers chose not to hold a press screening. To be honest, there isn’t a strong inclination to watch it, though such films often generate buzz both before and after release. Produced by Ekta Kapoor and Amul Mohan, the film faced multiple delays, one caused by the replacement of director Ranjan Chandel with Dheeraj Sarna. It finally hit theatres on 15 November.

Trade sources suggest that it’s made on a budget of Rs50 crore and has secured a generous 3,000 screens. However, the first-day box office collection didn’t even reach Rs1 crore, sealing its fate. With the film releasing close to Assembly Elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra, the practice of bulk ticket purchases would have violated the Election Commission’s Code of Conduct. Money is never the key motivation behind such films. They generate more buzz in the media and on social media, but the target audience rarely buys movie tickets.

Agenda-driven films have become a norm, but the premise of The Sabarmati Report might even shock some hardliners. The title is self-explanatory, as the crime thriller revisits the dark period of 2002, when riots erupted in Gujarat following the torching of the Sabarmati Express carrying Kar Sevaks. A balanced perspective was never anticipated, but what has stunned many is how the makers chose to focus solely on the Sabarmati Express burning, ignoring the ensuing three days when chaos and violence engulfed the state.

The trailer launch took an unexpected turn when Ekta Kapoor and her actors faced tough questions from journalists. One scribe asked how the film could focus solely on one violent incident while ignoring the carnage that followed. A visibly irritated Ekta Kapoor defended this by stating that their film portrays the initial event that led to the subsequent violence. Did she really say that? This writer was left stunned, questioning whether Ekta Kapoor was, in effect, justifying the horrific violence that ensued after the Sabarmati Express massacre.

Over 1,000 people were killed in the Gujarat riots, with reports of rapes also emerging. Among the most harrowing cases was the gang rape of a pregnant Bilkis Bano and the murder of her entire family. How can a film highlight the incendiary incident but turn a blind eye to the subsequent atrocities? During such tragedies, the human toll cannot be viewed through the lens of identity. Tragically, this film—and Ekta Kapoor’s approach—reduces the victims to their religious identities.

Perhaps sensing that the scribes remained unconvinced, Kapoor shifted to damage control and delivered a stunner by declaring herself “a secular Hindu.” Yes, Miss Kapoor, no one doubts your claim, but one can’t help but wonder—does this secularism end with The Sabarmati Report?

The Sabarmati Report isn’t the only film based around the Gujarat riots. Rahul Dholakia’s Parzania (2005), which also centered on the riots, was banned by the state government and had a limited release. It would have been interesting to know whether Kapoor would condemn the Gujarat government’s decision at the time. Also, we’d like to know her views on the Gujarat government’s controversial decision to commute the sentences of Bilkis Bano’s rapists, the murderers of her family, and the subsequent garlanding of the convicts upon their early release from jail. Thankfully, the Supreme Court intervened and sent the convicts back to jail.

Well, when you conveniently base your film solely on the Sabarmati Report, the makers don’t feel obligated to tell the complete story of the riots. But then, your film only gives a lopsided view of the Gujarat riots.

Some who have seen the film told us that a significant portion focuses on the role of the media at the time, where some questioned whether the incident was a massacre or an accident. So, rather than addressing the loss of over 1,000 lives, was Ekta Kapoor, Amul Mohan, and Dheeraj Sarna’s intention to make The Sabarmati Report more about highlighting the media’s confusion? It’s been 22 years since the Godhra tragedy. Back then, both the Centre and Gujarat were governed by the same right-wing party. To the best of our knowledge, mainstream media largely remained objective in their reporting. So, where does the question of pointing fingers at the media arise? Unless, of course, there is selective targeting by the spiritual mandarins behind The Sabarmati Report.

In a rather bizarre revelation, a veteran journalist claimed that Ekta Kapoor and her team have even subtly incorporated the Ram Mandir issue into their film. So, can one really expect objectivity in this film?

Setting aside the political agenda, Ekta Kapoor’s credibility has taken a beating in recent years. Kapoor and her co-producer mother Shobha have faced backlash over their show Gandi Baat on the edgy digital platform Alt Balaji. Last year, Kapoor also faced criticism for other content on Alt Balaji, which even led to Supreme Court judges reprimanding her for corrupting the minds of the youth. Voyeurism may be subjective, but it’s ‘gandi baat’ like The Sabarmati Report (2024) that threaten to corrupt both the minds of the youth and the social fabric. Given her legal issues, was The Sabarmati Report an obligation or an attempt to divert attention from ‘Gandi Baat? Well, we’re sorry Ekta, but your credibility takes a further hit.

What about the film’s lead cast? Vikrant Massey was born to a Punjabi father and a Christian mother, while his brother later converted to Islam. Here is a guy who, just a few years ago, seemed to lean towards Left-Liberal social and political views. So, Vikrant Massey’s involvement in The Sabarmati Report has left many stunned. Massey faced criticism from ultra-nationalists, who dug up some of his old Left-leaning tweets. The actor went into damage control mode, acknowledging his tweets but claiming that he was a different and perhaps ill-informed person back then. Maybe that wasn’t enough to pacify the aggrieved nationalists. So, is doing The Sabarmati Report penance for his earlier insensitive tweets?

During the press conference, Massey was asked the familiar question about the timing of such a film, which often precedes an election. Massey, like many other artists involved in agenda-driven films, responded by saying that elections happen throughout the year. We’d like to know if it’s just a strange coincidence that political films often tend to come out around election time?

Vikrant Massey’s career received a much-needed boost with Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s universally acclaimed film 12th Fail (2023). However, at a time when he needs to graduate to a higher level, The Sabarmati Report could potentially see Massey slip back to 5th grade.

Then we have Riddhi Dogra. The actress has been around for years, and it was only last year that she made her film debut in Lakkadbaggha. There’s no doubting Dogra’s talent, as seen in her performances in Asur and Lakkadbaggha, but it’s also a fact that the late BJP leader Arun Jaitley was her maternal uncle. Jaitley was often regarded as a rational voice within the BJP. While he was the party spokesperson in 2002, he is later said to have distanced himself from some of the criticism directed at the Gujarat government at the time. Well, if he were alive, would Jaitley have approved of his niece’s decision to take up The Sabarmati Report? To be fair to Dogra, she may not have had many choices.

The same goes for Raashii Khanna, who, after gaining some acclaim for the web series Farzi, is now searching for her next big Bollywood project. One wouldn’t want to be harsh on these artistes, but history suggests that forlorn or desperate actors haven’t quite risen through the ranks after doing agenda-driven films.

The Sabarmati Report may see Massey, Dogra, and Khanna make headlines, but the negativity surrounding it could damage their credibility. Poor Massey is already facing the heat, claiming he has been receiving hate messages, with trolls even targeting his nine-month-old son. While such threats should be vehemently condemned, deep down, Massey, Dogra, and Khanna might be thinking, “Oh God, is this what we signed up for?”. The Sabarmati Report will lead to polarized views, but we hope these artistes take our report in the right spirit.

Watch the video story below.