Reporting Live Review: ★★½☆☆ (2.5/5)
Reporting Live picks a subject that truly matters and has faith in honest reporting. But the screenplay is simple, the tension is low, and the emotional moments never hit as hard as they should.
Rating: ★★½☆☆ (2.5/5)
Platform: Netflix
Genre: Crime Drama
Director: Dhruv Tripathi
Cast: Parineeti Chopra, Deven Bhojani, Adil Hussain, Shekhar Suman
There is something a little ironic about Reporting Live. We are constantly debating the role of journalism, the credibility of the media, and whether it can hold the powerful to account.
Here is a film that sends two young reporters up against a sand mafia, corporate bosses, and a system that seems to have forgotten what a newsroom is for.
The film follows Sandhya, played by Parineeti Chopra, and her reluctant cameraman Vinod, played by Deven Bhojani. Both are eager to get their stories on prime time, and there is even a bonus on offer for breaking news.
When their reports fail to impress the channel’s bosses, we see a familiar newsroom clash, with reporters chasing stories while people in boardrooms worry about everything but the news. A senior journalist, played by Saswata Chatterjee, is pushed out for chasing stories too hard, and Adil Hussain plays the editor-in-chief who has already sold his channel to a corporate owner.
Things pick up when a bridge collapses, and a bus carrying schoolchildren and a pregnant teacher plunges into the river. What looks like a simple tragedy turns out to be something bigger.
Sandhya and Vinod trace it back to illegal sand mining, where sand pulled from rivers and lakes weakens bridges and puts lives at risk. It is a topic that deserves attention, and the film makes a sincere attempt to show how a distant racket can destroy ordinary lives.
Over nearly a year, the two reporters face obstacles, find unlikely allies, and suffer personal losses before finally making progress. The core message is simple but nice to hear. Persistence matters, and doing the right thing counts even when the system is against you.
The trouble is that the journey looks far too easy. For a film about taking on a dangerous network, there is very little tension.
People show up exactly when needed, events fall into place, and the investigation moves forward so smoothly that you start to wonder if the sand mafia is really as scary as the film claims.
You keep waiting for the stakes to rise, but the screenplay jumps from one development to the next without letting the struggle sink in.
That is where the film loses its grip. Sandhya and Vinod are meant to be passionate, but their drive is often told to us rather than shown. Even the personal tragedy that should give the story its emotional punch feels manufactured.
The characters suffer, the film expects you to feel their pain, and yet the connection never quite forms. When a story about the human cost of corruption does not make you feel that cost, something important is missing.
The performances are a mixed bag. Parineeti Chopra has good moments, but her constant frown and the familiar news anchor accent make Sandhya feel more like a screen persona than a real reporter. Deven Bhojani, whom many will remember as Kuku in Chumbak, brings warmth and is easy to like, though he sometimes looks slightly out of place.
Adil Hussain is the most dependable presence, bringing lived-in experience to his role. Shekhar Suman is nasty enough as the corporate boss, but the character never grows into the strong villain the story needs. Amol Palekar leaves an impression in a small role as an informant, and Nassar does too.
On the positive side, director Dhruv Tripathi keeps the film tight and handles the subject with care. The way it explores illegal mining, money networks, and power works in its favor, and a few late twists add some interest. It does not drag, and it is a decent one-time watch.
Still, the story moves in a straight line with few real surprises, and when the journalists finally break through, there is no big emotional high. You want to applaud Sandhya and Vinod for their persistence, but the film never quite earns that applause.
For a movie about reporters who want their voices heard, Reporting Live has a problem of its own. It has something important to say but struggles to make you feel it.
If you want something more playful this weekend, our review of Matchbox The Movie covers John Cena’s toy car spy adventure, and for a wilder thriller, our review of Eyes looks at a Malayalam series that makes no sense but is hard to stop watching.
Reporting Live is now streaming on Netflix.