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Reporting Live stars Parineeti Chopra and Deven Bhojani as journalists uncovering an illegal sand-mining syndicate after a tragic bridge collapse.
Reporting Live Review: Parineeti Chopra And Deven Bhojani’s Audacious Thriller Gets Lost In A Cliched Script
Reporting LiveU/A
2/5
Starring: Parineeti Chopra, Deven Bhojani, Saswata Chatterjee, Adil HussainDirector: Dhruv TripathiPlatform: Netflix
Reporting Live movie review: A bridge collapse in Visrgaon that kills 16 children and a pregnant woman sets investigative journalist Sandhya (Parineeti Chopra) and video journalist Vinod (Deven Bhojani) on a dangerous trail. What initially seems to be a tragic accident soon leads them to the murky world of illegal sand mining, where sand is treated as ‘brown gold’ because of the enormous money involved in its trade. As Sandhya and Vinod dig deeper, they uncover a powerful and ruthless sand-mining syndicate determined to keep its operations and the crimes surrounding them hidden.
Their investigation takes them far deeper than they anticipate. With every new lead, Sandhya and Vinod find themselves closer to people who have enough power to make their lives extremely difficult. Their families are threatened, their own safety is constantly at risk and even the newsroom becomes an obstacle as powerful interests attempt to prevent the story from seeing the light of day. Yet, against all odds, the two continue chasing the truth.
And this is where Reporting Live has a promising premise. A story about journalists taking on an illegal sand-mining racket has the potential to be a gripping, grounded investigative thriller. The film clearly wanted to explore not just the criminal operation but also what happens when journalists attempt to expose people powerful enough to control the narrative. Unfortunately, the problem lies in the script.
Reporting Live is riddled with clichés, especially in the way it portrays its newsroom. The editor-in-chief caught between journalism and the channel owner’s interests, stories being stopped, journalists being reprimanded and a powerful owner using his influence to determine what gets reported — we have seen versions of this newsroom countless times before. Even though these situations may have a basis in reality, the film presents them in such familiar ways that very little feels fresh.
The first half, however, is considerably better. The portions that reveal how the illegal sand-mining operation works are interesting . As Sandhya and Vinod begin uncovering the racket and understanding just how much power and money are involved, the film manages to pull you in. There is a sense of discovery that works in its favour.
But the script gradually loses control of all the threads it introduces. The sand mafia, newsroom politics, the channel owner’s vested interests, threats to the journalists and their families — everything eventually becomes a bit of a hodgepodge. Instead of tying these elements together into a taut thriller, the film often resorts to a bit of melodrama. Too many developments seem to fall conveniently into place, leaving very little actual thrill.
The performances do provide some support. Deven Bhojani is predictably good as Vinod, bringing an understated quality to the role. Parineeti Chopra is mostly one-tone as Sandhya, but she is convincing as a journalist who refuses to stop until she gets the story. Unfortunately, the script does her no favours.
Adil Hussain, as editor-in-chief Vidur, is dependable as always. He brings credibility to a familiar character and remains one of the more convincing elements of the newsroom portions. Shekhar Suman, as channel owner Shyam, is quite menacing. He walks a difficult tightrope between seeming like a politically correct media proprietor and someone with his own vested interests, and manages to pull it off convincingly in parts.
But, all said and all, Reporting Live has a story worth telling but a script that doesn’t know how to make the most of it. For a film that promises a dangerous fight between journalists and a powerful criminal syndicate, there simply isn’t enough tension or thrill by the end. The film is more promising on paper than it is on screen.
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Ask News18The film follows investigative journalist Sandhya and video journalist Vinod as they uncover an illegal sand-mining syndicate after a bridge collapse in Visrgaon kills 16 children and a pregnant woman. As they dig deeper, they face immense threats from a powerful criminal syndicate and obstacles within their own newsroom.
Ask News18About the Author
Shreyanka Mazumdar is Chief Sub Editor of the entertainment team at News18. With an unbridled passion for all things Bollywood, she loves deep-diving into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment wo…Read More
October 09, 2026, 12:40 IST
