Let's begin with the evergreen Anil Kapoor’s performance as Shivaji Rao Gaekwad in ‘Nayak’, a film where he starts his career as a TV journalist and ends up with becoming a politician, thanks to an interview with the corrupt Chief Minister Balraj Chauhan (the late Amrish Puri). For the unversed, during the course of a live interview, when Shivaji Rao Gaekwad seeks an explanation from Balraj Chauhan about a riot, the latter starts dodging the question and tries to acts innocent. That's when Shivaji Rao Gaekwad unleashes the journalist in him and starts grilling him in front of live cameras! This, then, leads to Balraj Chauhan challenging Shivaji Rao Gaekwad to become a Chief Minister for a day to understand what he passes through everyday. The rest, as they is… history! Providing able support to not just the Chief Minster, but also to the film’s plot, was the veteran actor Paresh Rawal in his role of Bansal. 'Nayak', till date, remains as one of the must-watch films made on journalists.
‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’ is one of the earlier films which highlighted the highs and lows in a journalist's life. The film revolved around the professional and personal lives of Ajay Bakshi (Shah Rukh Khan) and Ria Banerjee (Juhi Chawla) in the role of never-say-never journalists and how they outwit each other to prove that 'they are the best' from the rest. The USP of the film was their transition from being competitors to friends when they pledge their everything and become ready to walk every possible mile to prove Mohan Joshi's (Paresh Rawal) innocence to the world.
Despite the film's focus being totally trained on the alien character PK (Aamir Khan), it was the journalist Jagat Janani Sahni's (Anushka Sharma) incessant follow-ups and investigations that helps PK and the film to reach their right 'destination'. Full marks to Anushka's character for the manner in which she convinces her boss Cherry Bajwa (Boman Irani) to permit her to have a chat show between PK and the Godman Tapasvi Maharaj (Saurabh Shukla). The film went onto become one of the all-time blockbusters the silver screen has ever witnessed.
Film-maker Madhur Bhandarkar, who has always been known for his realistic take on films, came up with yet another winner in the form of ‘Page 3’. Amidst the lives of air hostess Pearl Sequeira (Sandhya Mridhul) and a wannabe heroine Gayatri Sachdeva (Tara Sharma), there existed the presence of the extremely sensitive yet sensible film journalist Madhavi Sharma (flawless performance by Konkona Sen Sharma). And boy! What a stellar performance that was! Madhavi was not someone who would mince words when it came to calling a spade a spade. But, she was always there for her friends when they needed her support (read ‘references’).
The premise of the hard-hitting film 'Madras Cafe' was set against the backdrop of Sri Lankan Civil War. While John Abraham played the role of Major Vikram Singh, Nargis Fakhri played the young and fearless British journalist Jaya Sahni, who doesn’t think twice when it came to uncover the truth. It is during one such incident that she chances up getting a news of a lifetime- a plot to assassinate a former Indian Prime Minister! Nargis played the role of Jaya Sahni with extreme conviction.
The film saw Preity Zinta towering in the role of a TV journalist Romila Dutta aka Romi, who is passionate about journalism since the word go. The film, in real life, had triggered many young minds to consider journalism as a career. Romila's coverage of the Kargil war with her daredevil attitude was simply beyond words! At the same time, her relationship with Captain Karan Sheirgill (Hrithik Roshan) defintely formed the film's highlight. The film's soul-stirring title track manages to give goosebumps, even today!
'SUPERLATIVE' is the word which aptly describes Rani Mukherji’s character as the journalist Meera Gaity in ‘No One Killed Jessica’. Even though Rani played the role of reel-life journalist in the film, her performance was appreciated by many reel-life journalists. Till date, this film remains proof of what a fine actress Rani is and why she will always remain as ‘queen’ of Bollywood!
‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’ saw Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla playing the role of journalists Ajay Bakshi and Ria Banerjee respectively. The film starts off with the two outwitting each other everytime to prove that they are the best from the rrest. As the film progresses, one incident changes thier lives forever, which makes the two journalists join hands as one to become a force to reckon with!
Sonakshi Sinha plays the titular role of Noor, a journalist by profession. Just as when she manages to deal with her life's pluses and minuses, there comes a life-changing and career-defining opportunity in front of her when she chances upon an illegal organ trafficking. This incident could make or break her career. Needless to say, our daredevil Noor picks up the story and exposes the culprits. Sonakshi's performance as a journalist received encouraging responses from many.
Besides Konkona Sen Sharma, Madhur Bhandarkar's ‘Page 3’ also saw the powerhouse performer Atul Kulkarni, who played the role of a crime journalist Vinayak Mane, to the hilt. Be it him dealing with his 'sources' for getting news leads or covering breaking news in real-time, he was just THERE, to cover the story without any cover-up!
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