Aahana Swrup
Directed by Dhruv Tripathi, ‘Reporting Live’ is a Hindi film that delves into a massive conspiracy and a pair of investigative journalists who vow to topple it. At the center of the story are Sandhaya Yadav, a reporter, and her cameraman, Vinod Sharma, who have been vying for a big story for a long time. While covering the collapse of a bridge in a rural village, the duo happens upon a larger plot involving illegal sand mining that is taking place at the banks of the local river.
As the two continue to investigate the matter further, they uncover a larger “sand mafia” with corruption present at every turn, from legal authorities and public figures to influential and wealthy businessmen. Consequently, as Sandhaya and Vinod begin collecting evidence to bring the mafia’s operations to light, they inevitably find themselves risking their own lives for the truth. Exploring the socio-politically relevant themes of corruption and conspiracy, the film tells a story steeped in realism. Notably, much of the foundation of the tale also stems from a harsh reality.
Reporting Live Builds Upon the Real Sand Mafia of India
Although not biographical or documentarian, ‘Reporting Live’ presents a story with significant roots in reality. The details of the film, including the characters, their methods of investigation, and the specifics of the depicted criminality, are works of fiction. However, the foundational premise, centered on an illegal sand-mining conspiracy, draws direct inspiration from real life. Sand mining, which is the extraction of sand from natural areas for commercial purposes, remains a highly lucrative industry in India. The mineral is needed for construction, especially in the production of cement, of which the country remains the second-highest producer.
Additionally, as per reports, 700 million tonnes of sand are required domestically to meet the construction sector’s annual demand. Yet, only around 400 million tonnes of sand come from the legal supply. This creates a heightened demand for sand, which can be filled in through backchannels and illegal mining. This has created a network of corrupt businessmen, civil servants, police officers, and more who have formed a “sand mafia” of sorts that exploits this deficit in supply and demand. Since the 2000s, many news stories, expert reports, and public scandals have unraveled around the existence and negative impact of such criminal networks. 30 police officers were suspended in the Indian state of Bihar in 2021 for alleged connections to the mafia.
A mining-related NGO, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), has claimed that these mafias have led to multiple deaths over the years. The organization alleged that between early 2019 and late 2020, 23 citizens, 11 government officials, and 5 journalists/activists were killed. Between late 2020 and early 2022 the SANDRP NGO claimed the mafia caused the deaths of 12 citizens and 2 police officers between late 2020 and early 2022. Furthermore, many more lives, estimated to be in the hundreds on an annual basis, are believed to have been lost as a result of road accidents as well as unsafe labor practices.
“These mafias are loosely organized around various stakeholders,” a 2019 report by researcher Prem Mahadevan established. “There’s no single overarching structure coordinating the activities of different extraction groups across India. Each province, or even each locality within a province, may have multiple and competing sand mafias.” In ‘Reporting Live,’ this reality of such sand mafias is condensed into one fictionalized location and one specific supply chain. As such, the narrative gets to explore various elements of such networks without having to commit to biographical details. Yet, the film’s depiction of the structure of illegal sand mining operations and their social and environmental impact is largely connected to the reality of the problems surrounding the off-screen sand mafia. Ultimately, by blending facts with fiction, the film tells a streamlined story revolving around a real-life issue.
Reportive Live Highlights the Dangers of Investigative Journalism in a Corrupt Environment
‘Reporting Live,’ a story seven years in the making, is penned by director Dhruv Tripathi and his co-writer Mihir Jadhav. Even though the central characters and their narrative aren’t directly inspired by any real-life individuals, their stories share a sense of resonance with the real-life activists and journalists who have been involved in the Indian Sand Mafia scandal over the years. In 2015, Jagendra Singh, a 46-year-old independent journalist, died as a result of burn injuries. Prior to his death, he had been reporting on a local politician, alleging his involvement in illegal sand mining.
Police reports have concluded that the journalist died of suicide. However, Singh’s family believes he was attacked. Another journalist, Sandhya Ravishankar, investigated operations of illegal sand mining in 2013. Soon after the publication of her story, the newspaper that published it received a defamation lawsuit. Despite the accusation, she continued to pursue the story and wrote multiple more articles on the subject. According to the journalist, she has since received threatening phone calls and harassment of other kinds. As such, the film’s depiction of the struggles faced by the fictionalized Sandhaya Yadav and Vinod Sharma finds some indirect basis in reality.
All of these elements add a sense of realism to the film’s captivating storytelling. In a conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Tripathi spoke about the project and said, “It feels incredibly special to finally announce ‘Reporting Live.’ I’ve lived with this film for seven years, from writing it with Mihir to bringing it to the screen, so seeing it ready to go out into the world is quite surreal. I wanted to make a thriller that feels grounded and real, while never losing sight of the ordinary people at the heart of the story. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to make it with a wonderful cast and crew who brought so much to the film, and I’m really excited for audiences around the world to experience it on Netflix.”
Read More: Reporting Live Ending Explained: How Did Sandhya and Vinod Die?
