Archive · 8 Aug 2026
Vishal Bhardwaj to make Rashomon-style film on Tarun Tejpal case
A famous Indian movie maker named Vishal Bhardwaj wants to make a movie about a true court case.
The case is about Tarun Tejpal, a man who used to be the boss of a news magazine called Tehelka.
A woman who used to work with him said he hurt her at a work event in Goa back in 2013.
First, a court in Goa said Tejpal was not guilty, in 2021.
Then, a bigger court called the Bombay High Court changed that decision on August 6.
That court said he was guilty and ordered him to spend 10 years in prison.
Bhardwaj read the first court's very long, 527-page decision many times.
He noticed the two courts told very different stories about the same case.
So he wants to make the movie like the famous Japanese film 'Rashomon,' which shows different people telling different versions of the same event, and Tejpal says he will ask the Supreme Court to look at his case again.
Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj confirmed to Variety that he is developing a film inspired by the Tarun Tejpal rape case.
Bhardwaj plans a Rashomon-style structure presenting conflicting accounts of the same events, in the spirit of Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film.
On August 6, the Bombay High Court's Goa bench overturned Tejpal's 2021 acquittal and sentenced the former Tehelka editor to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment and a ₹5 lakh fine under IPC Section 376.
Bhardwaj, present in Goa for the hearing, read the trial court's 527-page judgment multiple times and was struck by its divergence from the High Court's findings.
Tejpal says he will challenge the conviction before the Supreme Court; Bhardwaj will produce the film himself with a major, unnamed Bollywood studio.
- Who
- Indian filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, who is developing the project, and Tarun Tejpal, the former Tehelka editor convicted in the case.
- What
- Bhardwaj confirmed plans for a Rashomon-style film inspired by the Tarun Tejpal rape case, after the Bombay High Court overturned Tejpal's acquittal and sentenced him to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment.
- When
- The project was confirmed after the Bombay High Court's ruling on August 6; the alleged incident occurred in November 2013, and Tejpal was acquitted in 2021.
- Where
- India — the case was tried in Goa, where the Bombay High Court's Goa bench delivered its verdict and where Bhardwaj attended the hearing.
- Why
- Bhardwaj was struck by the sharp divergence between the Goa trial court's 527-page judgment and the High Court's conviction, and wants to explore how the same events can look different from different perspectives.
Acquittal side
Conviction side
Verdict in the 2013 case
Acquittal side
A Goa sessions court acquitted Tejpal in 2021, granting him the benefit of the doubt; the state challenged that decision.
Conviction side
The Bombay High Court overturned the acquittal on August 6, calling the trial court's judgment 'perverse' and relying on the complainant's testimony, CCTV footage and apology emails to convict Tejpal.
Defence and what comes next
Acquittal side
Tejpal says he is a 'victim of politics' and will challenge the conviction before the Supreme Court.
Conviction side
The state pursued the appeal against the 2021 acquittal, which produced the conviction, and the High Court has given Tejpal two weeks to surrender.
- Filmmaker
- Vishal Bhardwaj
- Film approach
- Rashomon-style narrative presenting conflicting perspectives on the same events
- Case subject
- Tarun Tejpal, former Tehelka editor
- Case origin
- 2013 allegations by a junior colleague at Tehelka's ThinkFest event in Goa
- Latest verdict
- Bombay High Court (Justices Neela Gokhale and Amit Jamsandekar) conviction on August 6 — 10 years' rigorous imprisonment and a ₹5 lakh fine under IPC Section 376
- Additional sentences
- 1 year rigorous imprisonment and ₹10,000 fine under Section 354A; 3 years rigorous imprisonment under Section 354B
- Earlier verdict
- Goa sessions court acquittal in May 2021, challenged by the state
- Planned next step
- Tejpal says he will challenge the conviction before the Supreme Court; the court gave him two weeks to surrender
Sources
Inside Vishal Bhardwaj’s next: How the 500-page Tarun Tejpal verdict inspired a Rashomon-style drama
Vishal Bhardwaj's Next Film To Explore Tarun Tejpal Case
Vishal Bhardwaj to develop film on Tarun Tejpal case after latest court verdict: Report
