‘The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth’ docu-series review: Nothing much is uncovered in this rehashed tale

When focusing only on Indrani, the docu-series about the Sheena Bora murder case ends up as a feeble and stale echo of what transpired in 2015

Nearly a decade ago, Indrani Mukerjea achieved a continuous spotlight when she was accused of killing her own daughter Sheena Bora. The brutal murder of a young girl, and the potential involvement of the wealthy, wasn’t what dominated general gossip at the time. It was the complex and unique dynamic of the Mukerjea-Bora family, which had been seemingly stowed away to benefit a select few, that made it to the primetime debates. Netflix’s latest docu-series, The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth, disappointingly doesn’t veer too far from what we have already seen and how we have seen it.

With the novelty factor of hearing the tale from the alleged horse’s mouth, the docu-series attempts to uncover the “buried truth”, but seemingly falls victim to the PR tactics, the lies, the legal team-approved statements. The end result is about as enjoyable as watching a compilation of the decade-old news reels, on a slightly lower volume.

The docu-series reopens the case using the phone call recordings of a frantic Rahul Mukerjea, Sheena’s fiancée at the time and Peter Mukerjea’s son, trying to find out where she is in 2012. These calls keep reappearing throughout the four episodes, growing in urgency as Rahul is given some version of the same story again and again by Peter. The audience is treated no differently, as the sequence of events unfold, narrated by journalists, and a few lawyers. While they provide an observer’s perspective, Indrani’s second daughter Vidhie Mukerjea, and Sheena’s brother Mikhail, give a more personal insight into the family’s history. A dramatic buildup at the end of the first episode finally reveals that Indrani herself will be part of this docu-series as well.

Out on bail currently, Indrani has used her court-granted freedom to boost her image, that she says was tarnished by the media back in 2015. First a tell-all book that was promoted at book fairs across the country, and now a docu-series, are not subtle indicators of what the former media executive is trying to achieve – to take back the narrative. As regards the docu-series, it doesn’t go beyond that, beyond giving Indrani the space to tell her version of events.

Rehashing details that have already been dissected by news channels in 2015, most participants in the documentary agree that when looked at as a whole, the case presents itself as a strong TRP magnet. Dramatic recreations take us to different living rooms across the countries as families tune in to lap up conspiracy theories. The docu-series’ intent appears to be to take this up a notch as it claims to present an unfettered access to what Indrani has to say.

As an exclusive chat with Indrani, the show holds up, but when you scrutinize it against any principles or characteristics of documentary filmmaking (especially of this kind of subject matter), it falls flat. “I think what was very intriguing was that people didn’t really know much about me,” Indrani says early in the show. This also forms the tenet with which she appears to operate, reveling in crafting her own image through this documentary lens. As the audience is juggled around in different versions of the story, it becomes apparent that the filmmaking lacks a strong independent or objective point of view. Narratively, the consequences are pretty timid.

At one point, Vidhie says that whoever is interested in the case should keep Sheena at the forefront. “This whole thing is about Sheena. There is a person who died in all of this.” Sheena’s story — then by the media, and even now — has been made into a means to reach an end. When focusing only on Indrani (as its title suggests), the docu-series ends up as a feeble and stale echo of what transpired in 2015.