Scoop review: Karishma Tanna delivers career-best performance in hair-raising Hansal Mehta masterpiece

Director: Hansal Mehta

Cast: Karishma Tanna, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub, Harman Baweja

Where to watch: Netflix

Rating: 3.5 stars

If there is one thing Hansal Mehta has established over the last decade or so, it is that he is mastering the art of telling a true story on the screen. Whether it is a biopic on the big screen or depiction of incidents based on reality on the streaming platform, Mehta has done it spectacularly time and again. Scoop is the latest chapter in that saga and it does not disappoint.

Scoop is based on the life and travails of journalist Jigna Vora, who was arrested in connection of the murder of fellow crime reporter J Dey. Accused of being an accomplice of don Chhota Rajan, Jigna was kept in prison for nine months and tried for six years before being acquitted. Scoop stars Karishma Tanna as Jagruti Pathak (based on Jigna), who finds herself battling for her innocence when her rival Jaideb Sen (Prosenjit Chatterjee) is murdered and she is declared an accused by the Mumbai Police.

What makes Scoop an engaging watch is that like one of Hansal’s other shows – Scam 1992 – it balances between being an investigative thriller and a human interest story quite effectively. The story finds that razor’s edge where it seamlessly blends the chase for the killers with a woman’s fight, and also introduces the viewer to the inner workings of newsrooms and how journalists operate. It does all that without being overly dramatic or in-your-face. The writing of Mrunmayee lagoo Vaaykool deserves all the credit for that.

This genre-bending exercise does make the episodes slightly longer than I would have liked but the overall narrative never stretches or dulls. The show holds your attention right from the beginning when it is about how the relationship between police, press, and the underwold is more synergetic than it appears. And even as it descends into a darker tale of a woman’s trauma in a harsh prison, it never lets go of its tautness in narrative.

Karishma Tanna delivers her career-best performance as senior crime reporter Jagruti Pathak. A hawk with a conscience, Jagruti’s descent from hunting stories to becoming one herself, has been brought out by the actress flawlessly. She has balanced both personas of the character – the fearless and the helpless – quite wonderfully.

Ably supporting her are a trio of more-than-competent actors. Prosenjit Chatterjee breathes life into the genius maverick reporter Jaideb Sen, showing yet again why he is so highly regarded in Bengal and beyond. Zeeshan Ayub delivers another measured performance as Jagruti’s editor and mentor Imran. But the surprise package in the show is Harman Baweja. The former heartthrob so seamlessly settles into the ‘character actor’ space, breathing life into the complex character of a senior cop, who is relentless to a fault and spearheads the witch-hunt against the protagonist.

Scoop has its faults. The prison sequences tend to get repetitive after a while. While the trauma faced by Jagruti is depicted very tastefully and sensitively, one wonders if it was meant to be stretched that long. Maybe Mehta was trying to show how slowly time passes for an innocent person in prison but it does feel the only thing amiss in the show. Then the final episode – which is a lengthy 1 hour, 11 minute-long – feels a bit to stretched and too packed with things. It feels like the makers were in a rush to end things but still wanted to pack it all in one (rather large episode). If it wasn’t for some cleverly-written court scenes to breathe life into the sagging affair, it could have all gotten away.

On its own, Scoop stands out as an engaging, informative show that is as much about the dangers journalists face every day as it is about the misuse of certain provisions of the law by enforcement agencies. But it does not sermonise. It makes its point quite neatly and subtly, and (if the word can be used for something so grim), in an entertaining fashion.