'The Sabarmati Report' producer Amul Mohan: 'Politics is not the driving force of the film'

The Sabarmati Report producer Amul Mohan on replacing director Ranjan Chandel, who was not on board to reshoot portions of the film starring Vikrant Massey

A synergy of ideas can only occur when everyone is in agreement. However, in the case of the Vikrant Massey, Ridhi Dogra, and Raashii Khanna-starrer The Sabarmati Report, the team could not survive the clash of ideas. Producers Ektaa R Kapoor, Amul Mohan, and Anshul Mohan believed the first cut required changes, but director Ranjan Chandel did not share this opinion. So, Dheeraj Sarna, who also served as the dialogue writer, was brought on board. 
 
“It was an amicable parting, but I was hoping for an amicable solution,” says Amul. Initially slated for a May release, the film finally hit theatres on November 15. “After screening the first cut, we felt we needed to redo a few things and introduce some key elements. We wanted to enrich what Ranjan sir made. [Despite] the increase in the budget, Ektaa and I were keen to do it. We did try to get Ranjan sir on the same page,” he shares.  

Amul Mohan and Ranjan Chandel

There have been rumours that Chandel left the project due to differences in political opinions for the reshoot, but Amul denies it. “Politics is not the driving force of the film. It is about narratives set by a new medium in India in the 2000s and how they changed the fabric of the nation. We didn’t have to reshoot much—just two to three key scenes driven by drama. Politically driven ideologies were never in contention.” He insists that the story focuses on the death of 59 people on the Sabarmati Express.  

The makers were acutely aware of the need to be sensitive to people’s sentiments, particularly as the unit included individuals from diverse communities. “We have tried to take everybody together and make this story happen,” says Amul. He adds that the team exercised caution while filming in Ahmedabad’s ghettos, where “anything could spark something in people’s minds. We put fake names of the movie on the clapperboards on the sets so no unnecessary attention was drawn to it,” he explains.

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