Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee is back in the OTT space with his movie Despatch. Despatch is a thriller that revolves around an investigative journalist named Joy Bag played by actor Manoj Bajpayee who is investigating India's biggest GDR 2G Scam. Directed by Kunal Behl, Despatch will be available for streaming on Zee5 on December 13, 2024. Despatch also features Shahana Goswami, Arrchita Agarwaal, Ritu Parna Sen, and more in the leading roles.
Since you have landed on this page, True Scoop News assumes that you also wondering about Despatch Real Story or Despatch True Story and who is real-life journalist Joy Bag. Below is what you need to know-
Despatch True Story
In the trailer of the movie, Manoj Bajpayee as Joy Bag can be heard saying that he is doing a story on GDR 2G Scam. Hence, fans are puzzled whether Despatch is a true story based on the infamous 2G Spectrum Scam case. Although the makers have not mentioned in the trailer that Despatch is a true story, fans are convinced that the investigative thriller indeed narrates the story of 2G Spectrum Case.
For the unversed, 2G Scam came to the fore when a report by the CAG of India revealed that 2G licenses for mobile networks were given at very low prices instead of carrying free and fair auctions. The then Telecom minister, A Raja, denied all charges and said that the decisions were made after then-apprising PM Manmohan Singh. A Raja was arrested in 2011 on charges of cheating, forgery and conspiracy.
The seriousness of the scam was such that Times Magazine termed the 2G Scam as the world's second-biggest abuse of executive power. The scam is a combination of three cases, one filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and two cases registered by the CBI.
Who is the real-life Joy Bag?
Notably, the movie showcases Joy Bag as among the prominent journalists who broke the GDR 2G Scam case. However, the makers also did not mention that Joy Bag's character is based on real life. However, Behl, filmmaker Kunal Behl who began developing the project in 2016, describes Despatch as a 'treasure trove of untold, jaw-dropping stories' that reflects the gritty realities of investigative journalism.
True Scoop tried to dig more about the journalist who investigated deeply the 2G Spectrum Scam Case. One prominent journalist's name that popped up is J. Gopikrishnan. As per the information available, J. Gopikrishnan wrote a series of reports, exposing the 2G case. Due to his investigative work, J. Gopikrishnan was awarded the Ramnath Goenka Journalist of the Year Award for print in 2009.
However, the journalist on whom Joy Bag's character is based is J Dey. Jyotirmoy Dey aka J Dey was an investigative journalist for Mid-Day and also an expert on Mumbai underworld. In 2011, J Dey was shot dead by bike-borne sharpshooters.
Over the years, many things written about the incident, and the webseries Scoop too weaves around his murder, and is based on the life of former journalist Jigna Vora, who was accused (and later acquitted) of the crime.