Reporting Live Review {3.0/5} & Review Rating
Star Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Deven Bhojani
Director: Dhruv Tripathi
Reporting Live Movie Review Synopsis:
REPORTING LIVE is the story of a fearless journalist. Sandhya Yadav (Parineeti Chopra) works as a reporter for a Mumbai-based news channel called Azaad Bharati. Her cameraman and best friend is Vinod Sharma (Deven Bhojani). One day, she’s asked to travel to the village of Visargaon in Maharashtra, where a bridge has collapsed. A school bus happens to be on the bridge during the unfortunate incident, leading to the deaths of 14 children. While covering the tragedy, Sandhya speaks to several villagers, who claim that the bridge collapsed because of a solar eclipse. Even a local minister makes the same claim. However, Shiva (Amol Palekar) and Mangesh (Pitobash Tripathy) allege that the bridge collapsed due to the government’s inaction. Sandhya approaches them, and they inform her that the collapse was caused by illegal sand mining in the region. Due to the excessive removal of sand, the bridge’s foundation had weakened, leading to its collapse. Sandhya and Vinod begin their investigation and are threatened by sand mafia goons. Nevertheless, they manage to collect evidence and submit it to their news channel. Azaad Bharati’s head honchos, Vidur Dutt (Adil Hussain) and Shyam (Shekhar Suman), are impressed with the exclusive report and air it on the channel. The cops are then compelled to arrest those involved in illegal sand mining. However, within a few days, the illegal activity resumes, while Shyam is pressured to take down the story. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Reporting Live Movie Story Review:
Mihir Jadhav and Dhruv Tripathi’s story is inspired by real events and is relevant. Mihir Jadhav and Dhruv Tripathi’s screenplay is captivating and peppered with some hard-hitting scenes. Mihir Jadhav and Dhruv Tripathi’s dialogues are sharp but some one-liners are childish.
Dhruv Tripathi’s direction is quite good. What’s impressive is that he has managed to bring together such an ensemble cast. Moreover, each actor has a crucial role to play, even if some have limited screen time. The director has chosen the subject of illegal sand mining, an issue that is often reported in the news, but has rarely been explored in Hindi cinema. This gives REPORTING LIVE an edge. The film not only explains the issue in a simple manner but also unabashedly throws light on how cops, politicians, IAS officers and others look the other way for vested interests when laws are broken. At the same time, Dhruv makes sure that he doesn’t paint everyone with the same brush. He shows that there are honest officers in the system who are willing to help when required. Similarly, while he exposes the corruption within news channels, he also shows that there are journalists and media bosses who’ll go to any lengths to speak the truth. A few scenes are arresting, like Sandhya and Vinod being roughed up at the tea stall, Shyam blasting Vidur, Shiva Kaka blessing Sandhya and Vinod, etc. The climax is clapworthy.
On the flipside, the film begins on a chilling note before going into flashback mode. While this sets the mood, it also makes it possible to guess a crucial development in the story. The impact would have been far greater had the makers not begun the film with the said scene. The sequence where Sandhya, Vinod and Vidur land up at the police station is difficult to digest, especially the way Sandhya reacts. Sandhya could have easily checked the CCTV footage to find out who entered her house. The footage could have also helped the cops identify and nab the culprits. However, the makers don’t explore this possibility. Moreover, while the film neatly explains the issue of illegal sand mining, it doesn’t shed light on how the practice can be prevented or how other countries are dealing with the problem.
Reporting Live Movie Review Performances:
After SHAQUE: TRUST NO ONE, Parineeti Chopra delivers yet another performance that’s hard-hitting yet nuanced. However, she seems a little too mature for the part. She comes across as someone who has already spent five or six years working in the media and, by that stage, should ideally be aware of how the industry functions and that it’s not always driven by principles and idealism. Hence, her character’s innocence and idealistic outlook seem a bit unconvincing at times. A younger actor might have been better suited to the role. Deven Bhojani is too good and is aptly cast. He dominates several key scenes, and the bond he shares with Parineeti is lovely. Amol Palekar is highly memorable. Adil Hussain is dependable as always and wins hearts. Shekhar Suman gets into the skin of his character seamlessly. Nasser (R Velraj) has a great entry scene and leaves a mark. Pitobash Tripathy, Saswata Chatterjee (J P), Prachee Shah Paandya (Pooja), Samir Kochhar (Karthik) and Geeta Agarwal Sharma (Shobha Deshmukh; municipal officer) lend able support. Bhaskar Jha (Nasir Solkar; who threatens Sandhya and Vinod at the tea stall) does well but gets a raw deal. His character, who plays the radio while beating up people, is interesting, and one wishes he had more to do in the film.
Reporting Live movie music and other technical aspects:
The songs are forgettable, but Zubin Balaporia and Vijay Prakash’s background score is chilling. R Velraj’s cinematography is satisfactory. Mandar Nagaonkar’s production design is appropriate, while Shilpa Makhija and Varsha Chandanani’s costumes are realistic. The outfits worn by Parineeti Chopra stand out. Futureworks Studios’ VFX is fine but could have been better in the bridge collapse scene. Shyam Salgaonkar’s editing is sharp.
Reporting Live Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, REPORTING LIVE is a hard-hitting investigative drama that tackles the issue of illegal sand mining with sincerity and conviction, despite a few shortcomings in the narrative.
