Last Update: June 02, 2023, 12:51 PM IST
An afternoon in June 2011 was a dark day for journalists in the city of Mumbai. Jyotirmoy Dey, a prominent name in the field of crime reporting, was shot dead by Chhota Rajan gang shooters near his residence in Powai circle. After which all aspects of reporting from politics to unity in the field and the nexus of the underworld came to the fore. However, a few weeks after J Dey’s death came as a surprise to the industry, the arrest of another crime reporter, Jigna Vora, in connection with the case.
Till this day, most of the industry is of the opinion that they sympathize with Jigna as no clarity was allegedly given for his arrest. However, the police at that time claimed that Jigna was involved in the conspiracy to murder J Dey. Jigna was then working with the Asian Age and had interviewed Chhota Rajan only a few weeks earlier. Some believe that this went against him and he was accused of conspiring with underworld dons. The police had alleged that he had given details of Dey’s whereabouts to Rajan, making it easier for the gunmen. Police arrested Jigna on these grounds, where he had to spend six years in Byculla Jail.
In 2017, he was acquitted of all charges. After his release, he wrote his memoirs – Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison. Hansal Mehta has created the series Scoop based on this book, which is now streaming on Netflix.
However, when one dives deep into the series, there are various aspects that portray the life of a journalist, and various aspects that ‘glamorise the life of a journalist’.
While journalists are usually made fun of in various characters on screen, this 6-episode series of around six hours tries to do justice to the hard work done by journalists with a special focus on crime reporters. .
It also delves into the deep relationship journalists have with their sources and policemen, while also trying to shed light on how journalists are often used by their sources.
The actual book written by Jigna Vora only talks about her life in Byculla Jail but here in this series, the makers have taken the liberty of going a step further and telling about the circumstances and conditions that led to her life. This situation has come.
However certain aspects of the series, such as the constant ascent of Jigna, played by actress Karishma Tanna, whose name is Jagruti in the series, or the glamorous part of her life such as the constant parties are not a common occurrence in a reporter’s life. It is exactly the opposite of what people have a perception about journalists.
Several notions are portrayed quite openly on screen, such as a TV reporter walking with boom and camera towards the family of late journalist Jyotirmoy Dey after his demise. While there, an editor tells them to leave. An attempt is being made to poke fun at the perception people have about journalists.
On the other hand, some aspects which I personally liked were, after the death of J Dey (lovingly called Dada), Tanna says that he will have to work hard to maintain his mark in crime reporting because It is a male dominated field. Which as a female journalist is in the same field that I can relate to.
Furthermore, the struggle of constantly being on top of your game in this field or else you fear you will be wiped out from your position is also something the main character has repeatedly talked about in the series. This is true to a great extent in the competitive field in which we operate.
