‘The Broken News’ is all set to stream on OTT platform ZEE5. The series is an Indian adaptation of the popular British series ‘Press’. Bollywood actress Sonali Bendre will be making her digital debut in this series which also stars Jaideep Ahlawat, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Indraneil Sengupta, Taaruk Raina, Aakash Khurana, and Kiran Kumar in it.
On 27 May, the streaming platform released the trailer of the show, and from the first look, the show looks to be in a tug of war between news and selling stories.
The trailer video opens with a journalist accusing another of being a ‘terrorist’. Soon the characters are introduced, who are driven and ambitious. On one side is Awaaz Bharati, an ethical and credible news channel, headed by Amina Qureshi (Sonali Bendre), while Dipankar Sanyal’s (Jaideep Ahlawat) Josh 24/7 rules the rating chart by selling sensationalism. Shriya, as a young dynamic journalist, mirrors the society that finds it hard to find a balance between the two extremes of journalism in contemporary times. The makers have promised to delve deep into the business and the politics of media and how ambition takes over integrity with the pressure of ‘breaking news’ mounting.
Differentiating between ‘Press’ and ‘The Broken News’ Vinay Waikul, director of The Broken News said, “The Broken News is adapted from Press, but we didn’t just copy it completely. Press was based on newspapers and ours is about two news channels.”
“We wanted to make a series that is rooted in our society and our culture. So to understand the culture, we visited studios and met a lot of journalists/ editors to get insights. We spoke to them about the things which they deal with on-field & in the office. Those insights made the show richer and very real,” he adds.
Talking about working with director Vinay Waikul, Shriya Pilgaonkar said, “Our director Vinay Sir ensured that the shooting process was collaborative and he was always open to discussing things and exchanging ideas. Overall the experience of shooting The Broken News has been a truly creatively fulfilling process.”
Bankrolled by BBC Studios, The Broken News has been directed by Vinay Waikul. It will start streaming on June 10.
Watch the trailer here: