Introduction –

Have Mike Bartlett and Sambit Mishra done a decent job of adapting BBC Studios’ show ‘Press’ which interestingly was written by the former? We believe the screenplay could’ve been better.

The plot of Broken News revolves around two rival news channels Josh 24/7 and Awaaz Bharti. It is also about their individual ethos and those who work for these channels. While Dipankar Sanyal ( Jaideep Ahlawat ) the head of Josh 24/7 believes in sensationalizing news, to the extent of destroying careers and lives, Amina Qureshi ( Sonali Bendre ) runs the show on merit, impeccable ethics and broadcasts only truth. The ethos of each channel is sacred to their employees and forms the basis of the story.

Josh 24/7 members are compromising, corrupt and unprincipled. Awaaz Bharti folks are just the opposite, and Radha Bhargava ( Shriya Pilgaonkar ) is a perfect example. Between this rivalry, individual lives, goals and aspirations also collide personally, professionally and morally. The high pressure news channel environment, politics, importance of TRP and the constant hunger for new “News” are some of the subplots that play around the major event – Operation Umbrella.

Synopsis –

Episode 1 begins with a flashback. It hints at a larger plot that will essentially and obviously play out over the subsequent episodes. The sequence then moves back to events which occurred three months back. Radha is Awaaz Bharati’s second in command, headed by Amina and owned by Radhe Shyam Bansal ( Kiran Kumar ). Radha is currently investigating the death of her friend and room-mate Julia Alvares who is killed in a recent fire outbreak in a posh and well known Mall.

On the other hand, Dipankar, the undisputed boss, and news anchor is fanatic about TRP / ratings. His current scapegoat is Gulnaaz Khan, an actor-turned-politician. Her recent sex MMS pops up on the internet and Dipankar ruthlessly destroys her career and her personal life by portraying Gulnaaz negatively on Josh 24X7 interview, and all this for increased viewership. Even the owner of Josh 24/7 Ketan Kedia ( Akash Khurana ) feels that Dipankar is not doing news reporting but selling masala stories. Ketan Kedia orders him to destroy industrialist Anurag Bharti’s image and reputation. He wants Dipankar to start a smear campaign against him on Josh 24/7.

Gulnaaz MMS Scandal and Anurag Bharti Events

The Gulnaaz MMS scandal and Anurag Bharti events swing between Awaaz Bharati and Josh 24/7. Josh 24/7 wins every time because of Dipankar’s corrupt and unethical methods. In all this humdrum Dipanakar and Radha meet a couple of times helping each other professionally. On each occasion, Dipankar offers her a job at his channel, and each time Radha tells him that she is into news business / reporting because she believes that people should know the truth. Dipankar scoffs at her interpretation.

THE PLOT THICKENS –

The story takes a serious turn when Anurag Bharti, post interview, tells Dipankar that he is a small fish in a larger plot. He tells him that he’s the scapegoat, and coerces him to pursue with the incident.

Dipankar realizes that there is more to Anurag Bharti than just an innocent smear campaign. His subsequent meetings with the Home Minister, Atul, and his fear when he mentions “Operation Umbrella” warns him that a sinister plot is being weaved by powerful people. He is still pondering on its importance and seriousness when Anuj Saxena ( Taaruk Raina ), an employee of Josh 24/7 steals notes of Akhil Kapoor scandal from Radha’s apartment. The exposé of Akhil and Radha’s growing moral / professional differences with Amina sets the pace and the mood for the subsequent episodes – does Radha join Josh 24/7, what is operation Umbrella and why is Radha tagged as a traitor. Watch “The Broken News” for answers.

The First Four Episodes –

Analysis –

Although we haven’t seen “Press” the original version of “Broken News” we do believe that the screenplay could have been even pacier and thrilling. The basic premise has all the exciting ingredients but somehow the tempo slows down in many places due to ineffective / lack of powerful dialogs / action sequence. Scenes such as confrontation, debate or reporting could have been tweaked to offer a sense of urgency, thereby enhancing the drama. Although the screenplay is littered with sub-plots only a few move the story forward while many are ornamental.

Coming to the performances, Shriya Pilgaonkar has come a long way, and we believe with every project she is graduating into a fine actress. Sonali Bendre seemed out of touch. In many places she stutters, not because of the script demand but because she is out of practice. However, Jaideep Ahlawat is impressive. One of the reasons is that this character is sketched out beautifully, but full credit to the actor for enacting the role to perfection. The rest of the characters do a fine job, complementing the situation and the story.

As mentioned above, shot composition, angles and effects could have been better. Direction is simple and right out of the book. Frankly, cinematography and direction could’ve make a big difference had it been technically and creatively exploited with latest trends. Overall, Broken News is a good watch and maybe a beginning for even better web series.

2022 Vinay Waikul Mike Bartlett and Sambit Mishra 1217 Minutes ZEE5

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