“In today’s world, we are as vulnerable to media trials as Jigna was in 2011” - Hansal Mehta
The new web series Scoop, based on the book “Behind Bars in Byculla - My Days in Prison” on the real life events of the female crime reporter Jigna Vora is making waves for all the right reasons. Hansal Mehta is one of the finest storytellers and Scoop excels in every aspect.
Such was the brilliance of Hansal Mehta’s storytelling that I felt like I was a part of Jagruti Pathak’s family. By the end of the series I started searching on the internet about who is real life Jagruti Pathak and what happened to her after she got bail. Where is she now and what is she doing? While going through numerous reviews and articles on Scoop, I chanced upon the interview of director Hansal Mehta and the real life Jagruti Pathak, Jigna Vora by The Quint.
Hansal Mehta, in his interaction with The Quint, tells why he decided to turn Jigna Vora’s memoir into a show. He says, “I was fascinated by the character, I wanted to find out more about her. Secondly although the story was based in 2011, it resonates with our current times even today".
He spoke about how emotional it was for the entire unit while filming this project. Actress Karishma Tanna, who played Jigna Vora, would break down after her scenes were over. He said, “We all felt the ordeal of Jigna Vora.”
The Quint in an interaction with Jigna and Hansal...
Mehta acknowledges that Scoop is an emotional family drama. Infact all his previous works were essentially family dramas like Shahid, Aligarh and Scam 1992.
Jigna, in her interaction with The Quint recalls, “It was a conscious decision to not return to journalism and one of my bail conditions was not to interact with the media and in a way it helped me to heal better. There were suicidal thoughts but I had to stop myself because I needed to prove myself innocent. I didn’t want my son to be labeled as the son of a murderer.”
Jigna looks back at her days in the Byculla prison. She narrated the episode of being strip searched on the first day and the smirk on the face of the male constable who was sitting outside watching her when she came out of that room. She says she will never forget that humiliation.
Jigna Vora was a clear victim of “Trial by Media”. Scoop highlights how trial by media can demolish the reputation and confidence of an accused, well before and irrespective of whether the Courts of Law have either acquited or convicted the accused.
What “Trial by Media” actually is?
Trial by Media is a phrase used to describe the impact of television and newspaper coverage on a person’s reputation by creating a widespread perception of guilt or innocence before or after a verdict in a court of law.
Media is considered as the fourth pillar of democracy, the mirror of modern society. But in recent times there have been numerous instances in which the media has conducted the trial of an accused and has passed the verdict even before the court passes its judgement. “Aryan Khan” and “Sushant Singh Rajput” cases are the classic examples of trials by the media.
Paid and fake news is causing harm to society. The absence of objective journalism leads to the false presentation of truth in a society which affects the perception and opinions of the people. The sad fact is, fake news propagates like fire in the modern world of social media and nothing can be done to contain it.
Inspiration: The Quint