Scoop – Reality Loop!!! PK Verdict: 4.5*s

Scoop – Reality Loop!!!

Hansal Mehta hits the bull’s eye yet again with his crisp 6-episode web-series Scoop. Though am running late on writing this review, you shouldn’t be late at all to watch this series that is pitch perfect with its writing, storyline, direction and above all performances from the ensemble cast that is rare to watch. Hansal Mehta has an eye for detail very few have, crafting a true story with the characters coming alive on-screen stirring your soul. He gives you a lens to observe along with a mind to discern, raising the bar of your conscience to where we stand as the society and where is the collective consciousness and where it should be. When it comes to the courtroom, it is not the collective consciousness but the collective fake chargesheet against which one must fight its freedom. A saga of real-life journalist Jigna Vora essayed with depth by Karishma Tanna as Jagruti Pathak who truly through her fictional name is here to raise the consciousness of the audience.

The cast is impeccable and surprises you pleasantly. The cop Shroff essayed by Harman Baweja comes truly as a gem and it takes the Visionary Director like Hansal Mehta to get the best out of him. Well written role is one, well performed is another and Harman Baweja delivers a performance to vouch for. Being the character he is, succeeds to attract the right empathy even though he is being a real ass yet somewhere you do resonate with his helplessness and the pawn he is made out to be. Prosenjit Chatterjee after Srikant Roy in Jubilee recently delivers yet another performance that is less on length more on depth, at ease he plays Jaideep Sen getting into the skin of character leaving a mark that goes on till the end of the series, as he is the source to the whole plot. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub who never disappoints with his performance, as Imran Siddiqui, he shines in his role and bring in the right gravitas, his ethos showcasing him as the right fourth pillar who standby no matter what. He steals the heart with such a subtle mature performance, making you fall in love with his character. Tanmay Dhanania too brings his character live with his penurious performance, someone you could be as mean as one could be succeeding to make you hate him. His equation with his spouse essayed by Ira Dubey who has her challenges at her workplace and how they draw the parallels questioning his conscience showcases the magic of writing and directors’ vision to land into the minds of their audience. Tannishtha Chatterjee, Deven Bhojani, Sanat Vyas, Shikha Talsania they all together form the great ensemble cast enriching the watching experience.

It is Jagruti Pathak who leads the show. Karishma Tanna  giving her career’s best role she will be known for in the years to come. She with her sheer performance pierces the story straight into the heart showcasing the nuances of the character so well. Be it sharp focused mind, a balanced single mother, a competitor, her vulnerability, her confidence and her breakdown too while in the jail and what holds her belief in the system.

Glad to see her getting the deserved justice but at what cost. Scoop not only showcases this; it showcases the courage of the journalist in not just getting the bylines for their front page but also the courage to be on the field fighting the vultures out getting the first spoon of the scoop ensuring it’s not a spoof getting it on record by the powerful people. The powerful people who should be using their powers to do the rightful are busy in arm twisting using their muscle power despite being pawns when it comes to use their brains. The D gang had all the control in driving the Mumbai Police and who suffers.

The story not so old is quite bold when it comes from the makers who research their work well, who don’t bring in the content to create sensations but rather serve the story in its truest possible form. Hansal Mehta is the one of those responsible directors who succeeds to raise the collective consciousness with his audience.

What happens before one is acquitted from all the charges. Media – the fourth pillar of democracy does it take enough responsibility to hold the mirror of the society strong or it makes the other three pillars go limp ? No matter what the case may be, in such cases of Jigna Vora, no matter how strong she stays, the pillar never gets strong enough to earn that life again, that time again even after all the charges are acquitted.

The judiciary system really needs to pull their socks up to discern and bring the right judgement sooner than later as you know justice delayed is justice denied.

Reality is a strange loop, and you don’t know it. That is exactly the end credits of the Scoop conveys giving us names of so many journalists who are missing, dead or imprisoned waiting for their bail or their justice to fall in place.

Scoop – hence a reality loop. Do Not MISS!!!

PK Verdict: Gold Plus 4.5*s