‘True crime allows you to pretend you are an investigative journalist’ | Interview with the makers of Netflix’s ‘The Indrani Mukerjea Story’

A gripping true crime documentary series The Indrani Mukerjea Story on Netflix delves into the sensational Sheena Bora murder case, featuring key players and twists.

Almost a decade ago, it was a story that riveted the country and dominated the news cycle. The disappearance and murder of 25-year-old Sheena Bora unveiled an internecine family drama that put to shame the wildest of masala potboilers. 

To recap, Sheena disappeared in April 2012; three years later, her sister, media maven Indrani Mukerjea (who turned out to be her mother), was arrested for the murder along with Indrani’s driver and her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna. A few months later, Sheena’s stepfather and Indrani’s then husband, Peter Mukerjea, former CEO of Star TV, was also arrested. As details were made public, it turned out that Sheena was dating Rahul Mukerjea, her stepfather’s son from his previous marriage. Confused? 

With its myriad twists, this head-spinning case had all the makings of a great cinematic tale. A new Netflix documentary series, titled The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth, now brings to life this stranger-than-fiction saga. It was delayed from airing on its original release date of February 23 by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which argued that the case was ongoing and the series could influence the outcome. The Bombay High Court later rejected the CBI petition.

Directed by Uraaz Bahl and Shaana Levy, the husband-wife duo behind Ladies First (2017), the award-winning documentary on Olympic archer Deepika Kumari, the gripping four-part series features appearances by key players in the case, including Indrani herself and her third child, Vidhie. The documentary peels back the curtain on Indrani’s life, including her early years in Assam and West Bengal, as well as her high society life amongst Mumbai’s swish set.

“We all love a mystery and true crime allows you to pretend you are an investigative journalist, or detective,” says Shaana, explaining why the case continues to fascinate the public. “The fact that this is a real story told to you by real people has a level of authenticity,” Uraaz adds. “There is certainly a bit of voyeurism, you know, how the mighty have fallen, that kind of thing.” Conspiracy theories abound on the involvement of top cops and politicians. “It was this onion you kept on peeling to find different parts of the story,” Shaana says.

Shaana, 40, and Uraaz, 47, spent five years working on the series. They had just finished a documentary short on Indian nanny Sandra Samuel, who saved two-year-old Moshe Holtzberg during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, when they decided to tackle the sensational Indrani Mukerjea story. “It was a story that all of us were obsessed with,” says Uraaz, a Mumbai-born and -bred self-described ‘accidental’ filmmaker whose day job involves real estate investing. He learnt the ropes of filmmaking by watching YouTube videos.

Meeting the half-Indian, half-Swiss Shaana, a once-aspiring actor, in the late 2000s in Mumbai may have encouraged him to take the plunge. Their relationship was sparked by a mutual love for film. Shaana, who grew up in London, had been cast in a Bollywood movie in 2007, which brought her to Mumbai and eventually the producing side of the business. “I started my career in theatre but filmmaking and telling stories, whether in front of or behind the camera, has been my passion,” she says.