Now Reading: Vishal Bhardwaj to make Rashomon-style film on Tarun Tejpal case
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Vishal Bhardwaj to make Rashomon-style film on Tarun Tejpal case
Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj is developing a feature film based on the Tarun Tejpal sexual assault case, days after the Bombay High Court convicted the former Tehelka editor and sentenced him to 10…
The Story in Brief
Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj is developing a feature film based on the Tarun Tejpal sexual assault case, days after the Bombay High Court convicted the former Tehelka editor and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. The director told Variety he plans a 'Rashomon'-style narrative, exploring the case through conflicting perspectives. He has read the 527-page trial court judgment multiple times and attended hearings in Goa.
Tejpal was acquitted by a Goa sessions court in 2021, but the High Court overturned that verdict on August 6, calling the trial court's judgment 'perverse.' He has said he will appeal to the Supreme Court. Bhardwaj said he wants an actor unfamiliar with the case and is producing the film with a major studio, whose name he has not disclosed.
The Indian Opinion
Bhardwaj is right that the case holds many surprises, but a courtroom verdict is not a screenplay. Treating a sexual assault conviction as a puzzle of perspectives risks feeding the lazy narrative that truth is simply a matter of viewpoint. The High Court relied on CCTV footage and apology emails, not ambiguity. The real test is how the film handles the survivor: if she becomes a prop for artistic abstraction, the project fails. Watch whether Bhardwaj names his source material or invents 'unknown facts' that the judgment never established.
Sources (3): hindustantimes.com, news.abplive.com, bollywoodhungama.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
