Last Updated: June 02, 2023, 12:51 IST
One afternoon in June, 2011, marked a black day for journalists in the city of Mumbai. A prominent name in the field of crime reporting Jyotirmoy Dey was killed by shooters from Chota Rajan gang near his residence at Powai circle. In the aftermath of which, various aspects about reporting – right from the politics to unity in the field and the nexus of underworld came to forth. However, what came as a surprise to the industry a few weeks after the death of J Dey was the arrest of another crime reporter Jigna Vora in this case.
Until this day, most of the industry is of the opinion that they have their sympathies with Jigna because allegedly there was no clarity given for her arrest. However, back then, the police had claimed that Jigna was involved in the conspiracy to murder J Dey. Jigna used to work with Asian Age at the time and had done Chhota Rajan’s interview just a few weeks prior. This is what some believe went against her and she was accused of conspiring with the underworld don. The police had alleged that she had given Rajan the details of Dey’s whereabouts, which facilitated the task of the gunmen. Police arrested Jigna on these grounds, where she had to spend six years in Byculla jail.
In 2017, she was acquitted of all charges. After her release, she wrote her memoirs – Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison. Hansal Mehta has made the series Scoop on the basis of this book, which is now streaming on Netflix.
However, while one deep dives into the series, there are various aspects which portray the life of a journalist as it is, and various aspects which ‘glamourise the life of a journalist’.
While journalists are usually mocked in various characters on screen, this 6-episode series of approximately six hours tries to do justice to the hard work put in by reporters on field, with the focus on crime reporters particularly.
It also dwells deep into the rapport that reporters have with their sources and policemen, while also trying to throw a light on how reporters often get used by their sources.
The actual book written by Jigna Vora only speaks about her life in Byculla jail, but here in this series, the makers have taken a liberty to go a step further and explained the circumstances and situation led to that situation in her life.
However some bits of the series, like the constant uphill of Jigna, which is played by actress Karishma Tanna who is named Jagruti in the series, or the glamorous bit of her life such as constant parties is not common a phenomenon in a reporter’s life. Stark contrast to the perception that people have about journalists.
Several perceptions have been quite openly portrayed on screen, such as a TV reporter walking in with boom and camera towards late journalist Jyotirmoy Dey’s family after he passes away. Wherein, an editor asks them to leave. Trying to pin on the notion that people have of journalists.
On the other hand, some aspects that I personally liked were, when after J Dey’s (fondly called Dada) death, Tanna says that she has to work hard to keep her mark in crime reporting because it’s a male dominated field. Which as a female journalist in the same field, I could relate to.
Also, the struggle to constantly be on the top of your game in this field otherwise you would fear that you would be wiped off from your position, is also something that the lead character has spoken about time and again in the series. Which holds quite true in the competitive field we work in.
