Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday watched Hindi movie ‘The Sabarmati Report’, based on the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002, at the GMC Balayogi Auditorium at the Parliament Library Building.
Many Cabinet ministers including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also arrived at the auditorium to watch the film’s special screening.
The Godhra train tragedy had left 59 people, including women and children, dead.
Vikrant Massey-starrer ‘The Sabarmati Report’ is based on the burning of Sabarmati Express train. The tragic incident occurred on February 27, 2002, when a violent mob set the S6 coach of Sabarmati Express ablaze at the Godhra railway station in Gujarat.
In the film, protagonist Vikrant Massey plays a Hindi journalist, who stands up to the system for covering the truth in his reportage.
The movie has gained significant attention after PM Modi publicly praised the film’s effort to reveal the truth.
Earlier on November 17, the Prime Minister had praised the film, saying the facts would always come out and a fake narrative can persist only for a limited period of time.
“It is good that this truth is coming out, and that too in a way that common people can see it,” PM Modi said while praising the film starring Vikrant Massey, Raashii Khanna and Ridhi Dogra.
“A fake narrative can persist only for a limited period of time. Eventually, the facts will always come out,” PM Modi wrote on social media, while replying to an X user.
Remarkably, the film has been watched by many BJP Chief Ministers including UP CM Yogi Adityanath, his counterpart in Haryana, Nayab Singh Saini and others. The film has also been declared tax-free in states like MP, UP, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and other BJP-ruled states, in a bid to encourage more people to visit theatres to watch the film portraying the “reality” of the Godhra train tragedy.
After watching the film, UP CM Adityanath congratulated the filmmakers and said that this will “expose” certain individuals and their malicious narratives in creating societal divisions for political motives.
The film is an attempt to showcase the events of the morning of February 27, 2002, aboard the Sabarmati Express near the Godhra railway station in Gujarat.
The Central Board of Film Certification issued ‘The Sabarmati Report’ a U/A certificate with few cuts because of strong violent scenes, few muted words, and alterations. The duration of the film is 126.51 minutes.
The film, directed by Dheeraj Sarna, is produced by Shobha Kapoor, Ektaa R Kapoor, Amul V Mohan, and Anshul Mohan under the banners of Balaji Motion Pictures and Vikir Films Production.
Ektaa Kapoor, one of the film’s producers, recently spoke about the extensive research that went into creating the film. She revealed, “We spent a year reviewing previous research and fact-checking those findings. Only after that, we did proceed to make the film. That’s why I am proud to have made this movie, unveiling the truth behind it.”