MELBOURNE, 13 May 2022: It will be a peep into how media groups (in India) compete for audiences. The first OTT Hindi partnership project between the BBC Studios India and Zee5 Global, ‘The Broken News’, also marks actor Sonali Bendre’s debut on OTT with ZEE5 Global.
It is an adaptation of the popular British series ‘Press’, directed by award-winning Director Vinay Waikul with a stellar star cast featuring theatrical favourites like Jaideep Ahlawat, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Indraneil Sengupta, Taaruk Raina, Aakash Khurana, Kiran Kumar, amongst others.
The plot of the show features two rival news channels based in Mumbai – Awaaz Bharati, an independent, ethical news channel, and Josh 24/7 News, which offers sensationalist and invasive journalism, and what transpires between the main characters in their quest for news.
Talking about the new series, Ms. Nimisha Pandey, Chief Content Officer, Hindi Originals, ZEE5 said, “The Broken News is an extremely relevant story for the times we live in. We are glad to partner with BBC Studios and director Vinay Waikul to bring this story to life. It is a riveting drama depicting the nuances of the media houses and the daily hustle-bustle of a newsroom. The story revolves around the ideological differences of the protagonists, beautifully played by Shriya Pilgaonkar and Jaideep Ahlawat. The story has a strong, contemporary and compelling narrative making it a perfect addition to our content bouquet.”
Sameer Gogate, General Manager – BBC Studios India said, “We are thrilled to join forces with ZEE5 Global as part of this partnership to produce this riveting BBC Studios format, set in the fascinating world of TV news journalism. The strength of our formats lies in their ability to transcend across cultural boundaries and languages. We are honoured that Jaideep Alhawat, Sonali Bendre and Shriya Pilgaonkar will be a part of this journey directed by Vinay Wiakul and we hope ZEE’s Hindi audience will enjoy the gripping personal and professional dramas facing the characters under the pressure of a 24-hour news cycle.”
The original UK series, Press, was created and written by award-winning writer Mike Bartlett (Doctor Foster, King Charles III), and is a Lookout Point, BBC Studios and Deep Indigo production, co-produced with Masterpiece. It aired on both BBC One in the UK and on PBS Masterpiece in the US in 2018, with the original series set in a print newsroom rather than a TV newsroom.
A 2019 review in The Atlantic said, ” Press takes place in a version of London where two newspapers vie for scoops, eyeballs, and impact, one more successfully than the other. The red-top tabloid The Post, which Duncan edits, is a thinly veiled version of The Sun, Rupert Murdoch’s brash, an ethically untroubled daily paper that often claims to have so much power over its millions of readers that it can influence elections and referenda alike. The Herald, where Holly is the deputy news editor, is a fictional take on The Guardian, a left-of-center, straight news outlet that’s perennially cash-strapped and bleeding readers. The Herald’s employees see themselves as performing a public duty. The Post’s think that the highest function of news is entertaining readers. “The Post is sexist, sensationalist, and doesn’t check its facts,” Holly tells Duncan primly in one of their earliest encounters. “I know,” he replies, unctuously. “It’s a lot more fun.”
An Indian adaptation of ‘Press’ is likely to be interesting and revealing. One wonders whether one of the channels in The Broken News ‘Josh 24/7 News’ is close to what is called ‘godi media’, a term used for a media group dishing out pro-government and toxic debates, and the other one ‘Awaaz Bharati’ is independent and critical of the party in power. One has to wait and see if some real-life experiences of Indian journalists find a place in ‘The Broken News’, as fiction. Anyway, the subject is welcome.
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