The fourth estate is crumbling, if not already dead, and it is a global phenomenon. It has fallen into the hands of corporations, and news is nothing but business today. In India, the journalism industry’s sad but prolonged demise is exhibited daily at 9 p.m. when primetime anchors bellow stirring statements with twisted narratives, provoking the populace. It takes its defining breaths every day in the wake of advertorials, WhatsApp University—a pejorative term that refers to the fake news and misinformation spread in India through WhatsApp forwards—and sensationalism.

The little authenticity left in this “business” can be attributed to those journalists working day and night with the grassroots, trying to report with honesty. You see, journalism today is a complex industry where businesses dominate the overall narrative and agendas, but pushback from journalists does exist, even if it’s not exactly forthright and sporadic. Thus, when a film is made about this murky world, it’s important not to forget that little glimmer of rebellion and resistance amid the chaos. The grey needs to be researched so well that the final product is not partisan but nuanced. 

Hansal Mehta’s latest Scoop—now streaming on Netflix—is based on former crime journalist Jigna Vora’s memoir, Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison, who was the prime suspect in the 2011 murder of journalist Jyotirmoy Dey. The show takes you a decade back to trace the changing media landscape in the country when things were bad (just not as bad as today), and the downfall of the fourth estate was steadily in motion while following a personal story. The viewer finds themself in a bustling newsroom where tips are chased vigorously, bylines are hunted, and the deadline is always yesterday. The characters in this newsroom are picked from around us and thus recognizable. You have the righteous editor, the shrewd revenue guy, the Bengali reporter who is impeccable at his job, the over-ambitious, aggressive trainee who cannot wait to match her mentor, and that meticulous reporter who has risen from the ground through sheer hard work. Obviously, Scoop has all of them. 

Into the World of Print Journalism 

The show opens with Jagruti Pathak (Karishma Tanna) and her father walking at a railway station to buy the day’s paper that carries Jagruti’s first byline ever. Her father is ecstatic to see her daughter’s name with a story on the sixth page. Jagruti feels it’s no big deal. “It’s the front page that matters,” she shrugs, giving away a hint of her seriousness about being a journalist and her ambition to rise. Every print journalist can resonate with this feeling. Front page bylines mean something special. Every day is a tussle to get to the front page. Jagruti is no different. 

Over a period of seven years, Jagruti managed to become the deputy bureau chief of a Mumbai-based English daily, earning a lot of credibility to her name. But things change once a senior crime reporter—also Jagruti’s peer—is killed in a mysterious shootout, and all evidence points at Jagruti. The following episodes trace the star journalist’s transition from a reporter to the one being reported about. 

In the original case, Jigna was accused under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for allegedly conspiring with gangster Chhota Rajan and his gang against Jyotirmoy Dey, a senior journalist. While Vora denied all allegations—she claimed that she had only contacted the gangster for an interview—the police said otherwise, sending her in judicial custody for nine months, an experience she recounts as traumatizing. 

Exploring the Many Sides of a Story 

What works best in this seemingly straightforward story is the fact that Scoop—co-written by Mrunmayee Lagoo Waikul and Mirat Trivedi with dialogues by Karan Vyas— doesn’t spoon-feed anything. A well-rounded portrayal of characters allows you to make your opinions yourself. Jagruti’s smugness is visible, but she easily redeems herself when we see her passion for her job. The chief editor, Imran (Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub), would stick to his ethics no matter what, even if it means losing his job. His successor, Pushkar Mohan (Tanmay Dhalania), is threatened by many around him, Jagruti, to be particular.

A great parallel is created between Mohan’s wife’s (Ira Dubey) experiences at work with those of Jagruti. The callow trainee Deepa (Inayat Sood) is driven by the need to outshine everyone and cannot wait to rise above her seniors. In ways, both Pushkar Mohan and Deepa are like Jagruti, but what makes these three different is the respect they harbor towards their profession. Essentially, the show is about the price one has to pay for their ambitions, just as Mehta showed us in Scam 1992. 

Harman Baweja as JCP Shroff is one of the most layered characters of the story who depicts a plausible moral dilemma. He is enamored by Jagruti’s spirit and wants to side with her, but also knows when to shift allegiances. Another hit would be Jamini Pathak as Jagruti’s lawyer at the end. His excellent delivery and strong presence really add to the drama unleashed against Jagruti. He makes some strong statements, listing down the loopholes in the case made against her. 

Despite being the tale of an individual, Mehta and his team of writers and researchers have delved into the length and breadth of the case to give a well-rounded purview of the case and how it unfolded. Mehta’s larger attempt is to make a commentary on the state of journalism in the country. Thus he ensures it doesn’t just get overshadowed by a story of an individual’s survival. Every character has been written with depth, and Mehta ensures the viewer has space to understand them. The series is well-paced but gets a little confusing at parts when the focus shifts from Jagruti’s tale to the intricacies of the case—too many surnames are used, which makes it difficult to keep a tab on what’s exactly happening.

As much as this show is about Jagruti, it is also about Jaideb Sen (Prosenjit Chatterjee), who lost his life protecting the values of journalism, and several other reporters and editors who work diligently despite mounting pressure from governments, gangsters, or police forces. The show ends with a statistic about journalists who’ve been killed in India to do their work over the last decade. Perfectly balancing drama and narrative, Scoop is the show that we need in today’s time.

Review Courtesy of Anjani Chadha

Feature Image via Netflix