Films based on historical incidents, have to be very careful in managing between the need to keep their facts intact and making the story interesting and revealing. The upcoming new film by Ranjan Chandel named “The Sabarmati Report” has tried to capture the complexities of the 2002 Godhra train burning, which was a national tragedy.
As people wait for this cinematic presentation, one question comes to mind: will it be a new perspective or a repetition of the known story?
Films based on real incidents have struggled to break free from the strict chains of predictability. The audience who are already aware of the happenings, barely find anything surprising to the story as they already know the outcome beforehand. Predictability can then degrade the effect of the film and rather make it a documentary rather than a cinematic phenomenon.
Throughout history, films that visualize significant events are rarely remembered unless they come up with something surprising or offer deeper analysis.
Mostly the historical movies are criticized regarding the inaccuracy of the facts presented in them. The practice of manipulating or exaggerating historical facts to make it cinematic is a common tendency which makes history distorted. This makes not only the viewers confused but also the seriousness of the events loses their importance.
The Sabarmati Report will stand out only if it shapes the incidents in a way that relates to the audience, with new insights or lesser-known facts. Just visualizing the event itself is not what makes this film different or compelling. Success will only be achieved if it provides a reason to understand the incident beyond its headlines-by-implication of motive, consequence, and human stories. If that is not arrived at, then the film will resemble a mere retelling of history.
Furthermore, the sensitive Godhra incident poses a challenge to the filmmakers. The topic should be dealt with such nuance and respect for the situation that it should not attract sensationalism of any form. The ultimate goal would be to make people educated and informed of the matter rather than profiting from the event for drama.