Vinay Shukla’s ‘While We Watched’ featuring Ravish Kumar receives world premiere in TIFF Docs

New Delhi: Filmmaker Vinay Shukla’s newsroom thriller While We Watched received its world premiere in TIFF Docs on September 11, i.e. today.

The documentary goes inside Indian news channel NDTV’s newsroom featuring the veteran journalist Ravish Kumar known for his tough stands and courageous coverage on various politically sensitive matters.

While talking about  While We Watched, Shukla said that he expects a series of anger and trouble from those who support the Narendra Modi-led populist government and spread misinformation on various platforms.

“Just looking at the comments on social media when we announced the film was selected for Toronto, I’m preparing for a storm”, Shukla added.

Previously, Shukla’s An Insignificant Man made its debut at TIFF in the year 2016, featuring an unexpected rise of newbie Arvind Kejriwal in Indian politics amid activist Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption, which later took form into a political party.

The Indian Government had banned the film, resulting in a tough battle of the markers with censors in order to get it released uncut.

However, the end result was satisfying for Shukla and co-director of the film Khushboo Ranka, who won and the film was screened across various theatres in India for over eight weeks and became the most successful documentary in the country yet.

Sharing his experience while filming While We Watched with an English daily, Shukla says, “My last film was a love letter to idealism and hope. While We Watched is my angry and anxious love letter to journalism”.

“Journalism in India today is an unpopular job, especially for those covering politics and dealing with contentious subjects. We have this team of journalists who don’t know if they will still have an office or a job tomorrow. They know that their Titanic may be sinking but have decided to go down doing their job and doing it well”, he stated.