Why journalist Sandhya Ravishankar accused Netflix’s Reporting Live of stealing her sand mining exposé — What she said

Netflix’s ‘Reporting Live’, featuring Parineeti Chopra, is under fire! Journalist Sandhya Ravishankar has accused Netflix of lifting her original exposé on illegal sand mining without credit or permission.

Reporting Live, directed by Dhruv Tripathi, also features Deven Bhojani, Amol Palekar, Adil Hussain and Shekhar Suman, among others.

The movie revolves around Parineeti Chopra, the reporter, and Deven Bhojani, her cameraman, as they investigate a tragic incident linked to illegal sand mining, which the film describes as a highly profitable business.

As they continue their investigation, they find themselves facing powerful people who do not want the truth to come out. What starts as an attempt to find answers soon puts their lives at risk.

‘MY real life story’

In her public accusation, the independent journalist Sandhya Ravishankar claimed that the movie was a pick-up from her real life and that she had pitched it twice to the streaming giant.

“Hello Netflix India, the next time you want to name a reporter character Sandhya, show her uncovering illegal sand mining, create a Tamil villain, and pick bits & pieces from MY real life story which was pitched to you TWICE in 2022 and 2023, AND not give me any credit at the least…. Think hard and well,” Ravishankar wrote.

‘Supremely crappy movie’

Sandhya Ravishankar also slammed ‘Reporting Live’ and Parineeti Chopra’s performances as “idiotic and amateurish”.

“Thankfully it was a supremely crappy movie with ham performances and Parineeti Chopra was nothing like me,” she wrote. “In fact she was nothing like any reporter & the newsroom portrayal was idiotic & amateurish.”

‘Clever escape’ from lawsuit

Sandhya Ravishankar, however, noted that the filmmakers have been “clever enough to try and escape a lawsuit by altering the story enough”.

“Shame on you all, especially the director-writer Dhruv Tripathi. Stealing other people’s hard work and making money sneakily out of it,” she wrote, while demanding a public apology.

“You owe me a public apology at the very least, but I’m certain you have no moral fibre in you to do so,” she said.

LiveMint could not independently verify Sandhya Ravishankar’s claim. There has been no public statement by Netflix on the claim yet.

‘Lived with this film for seven years’: Dhruv Tripathi

Before the release of ‘Reporting Live’, director Dhruv Tripathi said he has lived with the film for 7 years and wanted to make a thriller which is “grounded and real”.

“I’ve lived with this film for seven years, from writing it with Mihir to bringing it to the screen, so seeing it ready to go out into the world is quite surreal,” he said in a statement.

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to make it with a wonderful cast and crew who brought so much to the film, and I’m really excited for audiences around the world to experience it on Netflix,” Tripathi added.