Reporting Live Review: An Absolute Disaster, Nothing Works

BOTTOM LINE
An Absolute Disaster, Nothing Works

PLATFORM
Netflix

RUNTIME
2 Hours

What Is the Show About?

As Sandhya Yadav and her cameraman Vinod cover a bridge collapse in rural Maharashtra, their investigation takes a dangerous turn when they discover that the incident is a consequence of an illegal sand-mining racket. Facing corporate censorship and threats from the syndicate, the duo risks everything to expose the truth.

Performances

Parineeti Chopra and Deven Bhojani are talented actors, yes, but are saddled with terrible roles devoid of any personality. Nassar plays a stereotypical antagonist, while a reliable Adil Hussain is decent as an ally to the lead duo. Amol Palekar is almost unrecognisable as a whistle-blower, and this isn’t a compliment. Saswata Chatterjee, Shekhar Suman and Sameer Kochhar make little difference to the proceedings. Prachee Shah is cast as a trophy wife.

Analysis

Reporting Live, Netflix’s latest release, has the energy of an overenthusiastic teenager who wakes up one day, reads a Wikipedia article on a bridge collapse and a sand-mining scam, and decides to make a film connecting the two. In the process, it forgets that it is also supposed to be a watchable story comprising characters with beating hearts.

Two journalists, a field reporter and a cameraman, are covering a bridge collapse in a rural town when they miraculously unearth a sand-mining scam that led to the incident. In their pursuit of the truth, they are challenged and threatened at various levels, by their superiors, corporates and goons, yet remain undeterred. But is there a price to pay?

It is surprising how a film can get so many things wrong on so many levels. From its inability to portray the complexities of newsroom dynamics to its black-and-white representation of characters, pinning the blame on corporate greed without an eye for detail or any trace of strong interpersonal drama, Reporting Live is as bland as it gets.

Both Sandhya and Vinod are the only crusaders of truth in the entire media fraternity. Their seniors couldn’t do the needful, and most of the bosses are sold. All it takes for the duo is a couple of chance encounters, bike rides and visits to a government office to find answers, and they expect to be celebrated for uncovering something extraordinary.

This is the only pathbreaking scam, or even news story, that they seem to have worked on. The corporate honcho behind the scam randomly takes photographs as a hobby at the very site of the crime. Their only ally, a whistle-blower, is a fragile, vulnerable elderly man who has lost everything in life fighting for this cause and is waiting to be crushed in his little hut.

Attempts are made to silence the journalists. Vinod’s daughter receives a creepy note from a man, and Sandhya’s dog is killed at her residence. They stop talking because Vinod apparently realises that he has a family to protect. Everyone is so committed to their duty that they believe they can change the world overnight by dropping truth bombs.

What is refreshing, though, is the platonic equation between Sandhya and Vinod, even in the presence of the latter’s wife. But you barely know them beyond their work. Only two hues exist in this world. Everything is so simplistic, steering clear of nuance, as if the world isn’t capable of anything beyond good or evil.

Reporting Live doesn’t make you feel anything, be it the highs, the lows or the in-betweens. The writing is one flat line. There may be films that try hard to put their point across and fail, but this one hardly cares about doing the bare minimum. You realise you have lost 110 minutes of your life and can’t do anything to get them back.

Reporting Live is a Netflix scam, bigger than the one its protagonists try to decode, committing to disappointing its subscribers consistently.

Music and Other Departments?

The music is absurd, as if the film and its soundtrack were boarding flights to different destinations. Though the sepia-tinted visuals deny the storytelling any texture, R. Velraj’s cinematography makes the proceedings just about watchable. The writing, without head or tail, is easily among the worst in any Indian Netflix original, including the recent Parineeti Chopra disaster Shaque. The narrative lacks rhythm or any momentum whatsoever.

Highlights?

Parineeti and Deven’s amiable professional equation.

Drawbacks?

Bland product, flat execution

Terrible writing and simplistic characters

Has nothing new to offer despite taking up a relevant theme

Did I Enjoy It?

No.

Will You Recommend It?

Not at all.

Reporting Live Hindi Movie Reviewed by M9 News