The Sabarmati Report: Why was Ranjan Chandel replaced by Dheeraj Sarna as Vikrant Massey's film director? Producer reveals

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Vikrant Massey's film The Sabarmati Report was initially being helmed by Ranjan Chandel. However, the filmmaker was soon replaced by Dheeraj Sarna as the movie's director. Producers Ektaa Kapoor, Amul Mohan, and Anshul Mohan felt the first cut needed some changes, but Ranjan didn't share the same opinion. Later, Dheeraj, who worked as a dialogue writer for the film, came on board as a director. In a recent interview with Mid-Day, Amul revealed the reason Ranjan was replaced by Sarna.

The Sabarmati Report producer Amul Mohan on Ranjan's exit

Amul Mohan told the tabloid that Ranjan Chandel and the producers had an 'amicable parting' on The Sabarmati Report. However, the producer hoped for an 'amicable solution'.

"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," said Amul.

He further addressed the rumors of Ranjan's exit due to differences in political opinions for the reshoot. Dismissing the speculation, the producer added, "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." Amul revealed that they had to only reshoot two to three scenes 'driven by drama'. He clarified that politically driven ideologies were never in contention.

More about The Sabarmati Report

Helmed by Dheeraj Sarna, The Sabarmati Report presented the 2002 Sabarmati Express train burning incident in Godhra from a journalist's point of view. Vikrant, Raashii Khanna, and Ridhi Dogra played journalists in the movie. Vikrant was seen as Samar, Raashii as Amrita and Ridhi played Manika's role. After facing a few delays, the film finally hit the big screen on November 15, 2024.