While We Watched

Vinay Shukla's 2023 documentary follows the journalist Ravish Kumar at an Indian news channel. The camera stays in the newsroom; planning meetings, the threats that arrive and falling ratings sit in the same flow. The argument is the narrowing of journalism. Staff leave one by one, budgets are cut and rival channels use a different language; the narrative shows this not as one man's resistance but as the condition of a profession. The filming was spread over a long period. No commentary is added and there is no voiceover; the documentary stands openly with Kumar and gives no room to the opposing view. Who it's for: those who follow debates on press freedom and observational documentary. Who it's not for: viewers expecting an account from both sides; the film tells it from one point of view.