Shantasree Sarkar

Documentary Filmmaker and Investigative Reporter. ex- TV9, Republic, NewsX, India Today, Zee News. Please DM for any leads.

[Vir Das @thevirdas]

The fact that a specific section of Indian twitter, is praising an Italian lady, is just incredibly ironic :-)

[ZEE5Official @ZEE5India]

Bringing to you the reality of a case that shook the entire nation and left behind questions nobody could ignore.

#HathrasOnZEE5

@onetribedocubay @EPICStudios_OTT @adityapittie @samarmumbaikhan @Sourjya6 @clickninjaa @sarkarshanta @TanushreePande

[ZEE5Official @ZEE5India]

One story. Three sides. One truth.
#Hathras releasing tomorrow only on ZEE5

#HathrasOnZEE5

@onetribedocubay @EPICStudios_OTT @adityapittie @samarmumbaikhan @Sourjya6 @clickninjaa @sarkarshanta @TanushreePandey

[CinemaRare @CinemaRareIN]

Amid institutional hurdles, a young dalit woman's family battles for justice after a brutal sexual assault in Hathras.

Docuseries #Hathras S1 (2026) by #PatrickGraham, now streaming on @ZEE5India.

@adityapittie @samarmumbaikhan @Sourjya6 @clickninjaa @sarkarshanta @TanushreePandey

[Shantasree Sarkar @sarkarshanta]

A must watch for everyone! This was a clutter breaker from all that was happening in 2020. This shed light and exposed the faulty system!
And really worked hard on this documentary.. releasing tom on zee5

[Shantasree Sarkar @sarkarshanta]

The mandatory post poll violence in #bengal really needs to stop! We deserve peace not hooliganism. Bulldozing, killing people- is this bloodshed justified just because people voted for change!

[The Hindu @the_hindu]

Just a day after the election results, West Bengal saw tensions flare across parts of the state. In Kolkata's iconic New Market area on May 5, bulldozers were seen raising multiple structures, triggering chaos on the ground. Similar scenes unfolded in Jiaganj, Murshidabad, where a decades-old Lenin statue was vandalised by a mob.

📹: PTI

[Stanly Johny @johnstanly]

Why did #Vijay win? The easy answer is that Tamil voters were captivated by his film persona. What is harder is to understand the objective conditions that led to his rise. Cinema remains a powerful force in Tamil politics—there is no doubt about that. But look at what happened to Rajini, who announced his political entry and then immediately took a U-turn. Rajini, who was the biggest star in TN, never articulated his political framework. Vijayakanth formed a party in the Dravidian spectrum and made an impact, but eventually faded. AS for Kamal, the primary beneficiary of his political entry was Kamal himself. Even though Vijay formed his political party only in 2024, he had been preparing the ground for for years--not just through his movies but also by building a network of supporters and social welfare activities.

He carefully positioned himself within Tamil identity politics, casting himself as a critic of both mainstream fronts. In 2019, during final phase of the Sri Lankan civil war, when Tamil were being butchered by the army, he observed a fast in Chennai in solidarity with Sri Lankan Tamils. He supported the protest against the ban of Jallikkattu, opposed NEET and the three-language formula. In 2018, he visited the families of those killed by police in Thoothukudi during the anti-Sterlite protests (which was really a dark chapter of the AIADMK government). After he formed the #TVK, he called the #DMK its political rival and the BJP ideological rival. None of this offers a solid ideological commitment. But this provides a framework — Tamil identity politics, social justice message, anti-corruption crusade and a new contract, particularly for the youth — which, along with his star power (he is the biggest star in TN) made him especially appealing to the public. But that's not everything.

TN politics was also in a transformational phase, after Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa, who dominated the state for decades, departed. DMK managed the transition well with #Stalin taking the reins of the party and leading it to victory in 2021, whereas the AIADK fell into disarray. Edappadi eventually emerged as the leader of the party, but the split between him and OPS, and the split of Dhinakaran and then the continued presence of Sasikala all weakened the party. The AIADMK's decline left a vacuum in the state, which was what the BJP tried to fill. Many here say the BJP, which won just one seat, was effectively running the AIADMK alliance. Vijay seemed to have exploited both the decline of the AIADMK and the anti-incumbency sentiments towards the DMK (there is genuine anger towards corruption and the family rule) with his populist, anti-establishment message. Actually the space the BJP wants to occupy is gone. I think the DMK will stay and fight back, the AIADMK will have to fight for survival.

This doesn't mean Vijay is going to be a saviour. The party is not constituted with clear ideological moorings. He remains a larger-than-life figure, a cult, something that’s not good for a healthy democracy. He is politically and administratively inexperienced, and it’s unclear what checks and balances will operate around him. It also remains to be seen whether he will give substantive shape to the political framework he has articulated, or evolve into a political shape-shifter.

[Shantasree Sarkar @sarkarshanta]

This is just unacceptable

[Gaurav Srivastava @gauravnewsman]

Shocking news from #WestBengal

#SuvenduAdhikari PA Chandranath Rath has been shot dead in Madhyamgram N24 Pargana. Three bullets were fired at him. Succumbed to injuries.

[Shantasree Sarkar @sarkarshanta]

Can someone please explain, what was this alert about?!

[Saba Naqvi @_sabanaqvi]

This picture that Raghu Rai took of Arundhati Roy somewhere in Delhi is a masterpiece that captures what I would call “the male gaze”.

[Preeti Choudhry @PreetiChoudhry]

My exit poll! As I leave #Bengal, it would be a disservice not to say this: I have come to deeply admire the way women inhabit space here. There is a quiet, almost subconscious elevation of women as independent beings . something that stands in stark contrast to the entrenched misogyny that still finds resonance across much of northern India. Perhaps it stems from a cultural understanding of shakti. A form of empowerment that manifests here in ways both subtle and profound, unlike anywhere else in the country, even in the south.
Any woman journalist who has covered political rallies across India will recognize the difference immediately. Other states, a crowd is not just a logistical challenge, it carries risk. the inevitability of wandering hands, the violation masked by chaos. Here, the crowds are no less dense, the air no less heavy with sweat and alcohol—but the hands, for the most part, do not grope. Men step aside to make way. When contact happens, as it inevitably does in chaos, there is visible embarrassment rather than entitlement. What you encounter is not chivalry, but something far rarer: equality. And equality feels far more meaningful. Was never a fan of chivalry in any case :) 
There is more. Women politicians across party lines campaign with a striking freedom, aggressive, sharp, unapologetically irreverent, often using what would elsewhere be labelled as ‘masculine’ rhetoric. In most states, such behaviour would invite judgment, even censure. Here, it is met with acceptance,  applause. What feels liberating to an outsider is, in Bengal, simply normal. What we frame as empowerment  here is a cultural undercurrent.
I have covered four elections in this state, and each time I have returned with the same sense of awe. Bengal, meanwhile, ambles on with a certain bemusement, as if unaware of what sets it apart. But it is a big deal. And perhaps the most remarkable part is that Bengal does not think so.
Governments will come and go. One can only hope that this constant endures, not just how Bengal sees its women, but how, in many ways, it doesn’t. ♥️♥️♥️

[Aditya Raj Kaul @AdityaRajKaul]

#BREAKING: Iran rejects US proposal, lays out five conditions for ending imposed war: Sources have told Press TV.

Five conditions are:

•A complete halt to "aggression and assassinations" by the enemy.
 
•The establishment of concrete mechanisms to ensure that the war is not reimposed on the Islamic Republic.
 
•Guaranteed and clearly defined payment of war damages and reparations.
 
•The conclusion of the war across all fronts and for all resistance groups involved throughout the region
 
•International recognition and guarantees regarding Iran's sovereign right to exercise authority over the Strait of Hormuz.

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

Iraq has some of the world’s largest oil reserves but the money it earns doesn’t fully flow through Baghdad. Instead, a system set up after the US invasion in 2003 still gives Washington lasting leverage over Iraq's oil revenues.

Al Jazeera’s Osama bin Javaid explains.

[Aditya Raj Kaul @AdityaRajKaul]

Indian Oil: In light of current geopolitical disruptions affecting global fuel supply, steps have been taken to enhance LPG production and prioritise its availability for domestic consumers and essential non-domestic sectors such as hospitals and educational institutions.
Requests from other non-domestic sectors will be reviewed by a committee of Executive Directors from Oil Marketing Companies and prioritised based on merit, necessity, and product availability.
For essential requirements from other sectors, submissions may be made to the committee by emailing at:

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

#Indane #LPG #LPGSupply #DomesticLPG
#IndustrialLPG

@HardeepSPuri @PetroleumMin @Secretary_MoPNG @neerajmittalias @ChairmanIOCL @sahneyas

[Shiv Aroor @ShivAroor]

In-DOC-trination.

[Shantasree Sarkar @sarkarshanta]

@Sreya_Chattrjee always bringing the right information to you. So proud❤️

[Manisha Pande @MnshaP]

Sreya Chatterjee on India Today doing a really good job of live reporting from red fort. Precise information and no sensationalism.

[Shantasree Sarkar @sarkarshanta]

RT @PTI_News: Bollywood veteran Dharmendra Deol's daughter Esha Deol on Instagram posts, "The media seems to be in overdrive and spreading…

[Amit Bhardwaj @AmmyBhardwaj]

#BigBreaking
Delhi Red Fort Blast
Ammoniaum nitrate + fuel oil+ explosives detonators : initial findings

Final report awaited

[Shantasree Sarkar @sarkarshanta]

Probe underway on the i20 car. Scenes from the blast site #delhiblast

[CNBC-TV18 @CNBCTV18Live]

#JustIn | Delhi Police PRO to CNBC-TV18;

Extent of damage being ascertained, specialized teams are on the spot

More details will be shared soon