CHASING THE INDRANI MUKERJEA STORY
The directors of a new documentary series on the sensational Sheena Bora murder case discuss what attracted them to the subject
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twists, this had all the cinematic tale. mentary series, titled The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth, now brings to life this strangerthanfiction saga. It was delayed from airing on its original release date of February 23 by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which argued that the case was ongoing and the series could influence the outcome. The Bombay High Court later rejected the CBI petition.
Like peeling an onion
Directed by Uraaz Bahl and Shaana Levy, the husbandwife duo behind Ladies First (2017), the awardwinning documentary on Olympic archer Deepika Kumari, the gripping fourpart series features appearances by key players in the case, including Indrani herself and her third child, Vidhie. The documentary peels back the curtain on Indrani’s life, including her early years in Assam and West Bengal, as well as her high society life amongst Mumbai’s swish set.
“We all love a mystery and true crime allows you to pretend you are an investigative journalist, or detective,” says Levy, explaining why the case continues to fascinate
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(Clockwise from left) Indrani Mukerjea in court in 2018; Sheena Bora, who was allegedly murdered by Indrani, her mother; directors Uraaz Bahl and Shaana Levy; and Indrani’s third child, Vidhie Mukerjea, in a still from the series. the public. “The fact that this is a real story told to you by real people has a level of authenticity,” Bahl adds. “There is certainly a bit of voyeurism, you know, how the mighty have fallen, that kind of thing.” Conspiracy theories abound on the involvement of top cops and politicians. “It was this onion you kept on peeling to find different parts of the story,” Levy says.
Levy, 40, and Bahl, 47, spent five years working on the series. They had just finished a documentary short on Indian nanny Sandra Samuel, who saved twoyearold Moshe Holtzberg during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, when they decided to tackle the sensational Indrani Mukerjea story. “It was a story all of us were obsessed with,” says Bahl, a Mumbaiborn and bred selfdescribed ‘accidental’ filmmaker whose day job involves real estate investing. He learnt the ropes of filmmaking by watching YouTube videos.
Meeting the halfIndian, halfSwiss Levy, a onceaspiring actor, in the late 2000s in Mumbai may have encouraged him to take the plunge. Their relationship was sparked by a mutual love of film. Levy, who grew up in London, had been cast in a Bollywood movie in 2007, which brought her to Mumbai and eventually the producing side of the business. “I started my career in theatre but filmmaking and telling stories, whether in front of or behind the camera, has been my passion,” she says.
Access to key players
The couple has worked with teams — editors, cinematographers, and producers — in Los Angeles and around the world, and the documentary does a stellar job of reporting the story. Riveting scenes include one where Indrani asks for the camera to stop rolling when her lawyer is speaking and the lawyer responds by asking Indrani to “relax” and not interrupt his flow of thought. That’s pure documentary gold.
In the intervening five years of the documentary’s making, the couple managed to have two babies — Levy jokingly calls the series their third baby. Researching the case took time but so did gaining access to the key players, including Indrani, who was in jail till 2022. The series also includes interviews with lawyers and journalists to provide context.
According to the filmmakers,
Indrani was “very professional on set, always arrived on time and came well prepared for the interview. She is extremely intelligent and knows every aspect of her case. We didn’t know Indrani before making this documentary and had the opportunity to interview her twice a few months apart. This allowed us to start with her backstory and lead up to more difficult questions. Indrani rarely refused to answer any of our questions,” says Levy.
These days, Indrani, who wrote a memoir last year, can be seen on Instagram (she has 1.2 million followers), travelling to the Andamans and posting her dance routines. She maintains her innocence.
“When we started this, we thought the case was going to get resolved,” says Levy. The filmmakers disclose at the beginning of the series that their work is based on publicly available information. “We tried to give a balanced pointofview and kept waiting for a verdict. But in a way, that made us work harder to make sure we did justice to the subject matter.”
The writer is a Mumbaibased journalist and author.