The Broken News review: Few stops short of being a compelling examination of the good, bad, and ugly of journalism

Language: Hindi

Journalism is an endangered profession in Hindi cinema and web series. There has arguably been no other profession that has been such a constant source of obsession for creators and storytellers. Even though journalists populate the most popular narratives in Hindi storytellers, journalism is often reduced to a dramatic device. Journalist characters are often written as narrative conjunctions who end up being caricatured to no end. Ram Madhvani’s Dhamaka (2021) is a recent example. In fact, the lack of fluency in translating the psyche of newsrooms seems to be a collective disease. Even sensational shows like Paatal Lok (2020) and Mumbai Diaries (2021) faltered in their depiction of journalists as fully fleshed characters, mainly due to their insistence on putting their journalist protagonists in one-note boxes.

Vinay Waikul’s The Broken News — adapted from the BBC miniseries Press (2018) that followed two rival newspapers  — joins the canon of shows and movies about journalism. Over eight episodes, The Broken News follows the inner mechanisms of two rival television channels that are located in the same building and their differing approaches to holding truth to power. On one hand is Josh 24/7, the news channel run by the pompous Dipankar Sanyal (Jaideep Ahlawat) who believes in going to any lengths (including paying money to sources) to get breaking news and TRPs. When a closeted student kills himself, he instructs his staff to look for bytes from his bereaved parents and his boyfriend.  

Operating three floors below his newsroom is Awaaz Bharati, the television channel run by Amina ( Sonali Bendre ) which, on the other hand, believes in the power of honest journalism. Working under her is the channel’s rising star Radha Bhargava (Shriya Pilgaonkar), an ambitious investigative journalist who isn’t afraid of asking difficult questions. When the show opens, Radha has been branded as a traitor by Sanyal and the story goes three months (if there’s one thing you can trust Indian storytellers with, it’s relying heavily on flashbacks) to probe the origins of the moment. The tussle between ethical journalism and chest-thumping storytelling forms much of the backbone of the show’s plot.

Adapted and written for the screen by Sambit Mishra, the essence of Broken News hinges on dissecting the debates around sensationalist journalism, and news being packaged as entertainment.

In that, the show can often feel like it isn’t equipped to speak directly to the worries about the current news cycle. The issues currently plaguing journalism are far more sinister than rigged ratings. There’s the role of government propaganda to consider now, the business of fake news on Indian television as well as news being a vehicle to engender riots, lynch-mobs, and intolerance. Even worse is that at eight episodes, the show overstays its welcome, finding excuses to take narrative detours instead of focusing on the story it wants to tell.

Still, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that The Broken News curiously manages to locate and maintain momentum. Much of it is because of the show’s effective casting. Bendre’s measured and contemplative turn in particular wonders for the proceedings. Pilgaonkar continues her run at proving just how valuable the actor’s presence is in any dramatic show. Still, it’s Ahlawat who brings alive the show and what seems, at least on paper, a caricatured character.  It helps that the show is handsomely mounted with style to spare. Many of the scenes like both All the President’s Men and Spotlight and the end result is an engaging show that just stops short of being memorable.

The Broken News is streaming on ZEE5.

Poulomi Das is a film and culture writer, critic, and programmer. Follow more of her writing on  Twitter .

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