‘Didn’t Want Netflix Documentary To Be Propaganda’: Indrani Mukerjea On Murder, ‘Karma’ & Love

Murder mysteries, family ties & beyond: Indrani Mukerjea has been in the spotlight of late, especially since the release of the Netflix documentary, ‘The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth’.

Even before 2015, when she became a household name after the alleged murder of her daughter Sheena Bora came to light, Indrani Mukerjea was a known media figure as the CEO of INX Media, which she had co-founded with ex-husband Peter Mukerjea. 

The two media barons were arrested three years after Sheena’s alleged murder in 2012. The murky case, mired in family drama, had newsrooms and living rooms hooked alike. 

Indrani had introduced Sheena to the world as her sister. But investigations would later reveal that Sheena was actually Indrani’s first child, born when the latter was still a teenager. Sheena and her brother Mikhail are believed to be the children of Indrani and her first husband. She had another daughter with her second husband before marrying Peter Mukerjea. 

In August 2015, Indrani was arrested for the alleged abduction and murder of Sheena. At the time of her disappearance in 2012, the 25-year-old was in a relationship with Peter Mukerjea’s son, which was allegedly a cause of friction in the family.

Indrani’s fellow accused in the case include her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyamvar Rai, who later turned an approver.

The former media baron got bail in May 2022, and has since been on a mission to demolish the allegations against her. Besides appearing on the Indrani Mukerjea Netflix documentary, she has also written a book, ‘Unbroken’, to tell her side of the story, and given several interviews.

Among other things, she has questioned the very premise of the case against her, by claiming that Sheena is alive.

In an exclusive interview to ABP Live, she talked about the case, took on some of the viewer theories surrounding her demeanour in the documentary, and discussed her life after jail.  

 

‘Buried Truth’

‘Buried Truth’ showed the strains in Indrani’s personal relationships, including with daughter Vidhie. The latter is biologically Khanna’s daughter, but was adopted by Peter Mukerjea. In the documentary, Vidhie revealed that Peter’s family asked her to call Indrani 'Lucy' – short for Lucifer – after her arrest. 

Asked how she felt about this, Indrani said Vidhie was an impressionable child at the time. “She did go through a lot in life, met all kinds of challenges. Of course it felt bad... But I realised that relationships have to be effortless and unconditional,” she added. “I didn’t put any conditions. And that’s probably why she did a complete U-turn and said ‘forget it, I stand by my mother’.”

There has been a lot of conjecture around her smile at the end of the docuseries, but Indrani is dismissive of all speculation. “Sorry viewers, I am going to smile as much as I want,” she said. “So many people asked how I didn’t cry during the documentary. I will cry in my own private moments. I cannot kick butt and sit and cry simultaneously. Why should I show my tears to you? I will not. And I would like to tell everyone – don’t cry in front of the camera!”

She described the docuseries as “a very balanced piece”. 

“My only condition was it needs to be balanced because I don’t want people to feel it’s propaganda or as if I have a halo around me,” she added. “Some people will hate me, some will love me, let them decide. But I also promoted my Netflix documentary despite the fact that there were versions in it that made me look unappealing and narcissistic.”

Indrani also spoke at length about her experience as the CEO of INX Media, saying women in leadership roles often face uncomfortable questions on their way up. 

“I did face misogyny in the workspace despite being the CEO,” she said. 

“When a man makes it big, do you say that he is a social climber? You don’t say that. How does a man get from nowhere to becoming a CEO?  I’m sure he has done something,” she added. “I don’t know whether he slept with his boss. I don’t know whether he did whatever he had to do, or whether he stabbed his boss and then became the CEO. I don’t know about that. Maybe it was just his capabilities. But it is very, very difficult for society to accept the same for a woman.”

 

 

 

'Whatever People Feel About Me Is Irrelevant' 

Back to her personal life, asked if she still believes in love after three failed marriages, Indrani said she “was married thrice but fell in love only twice”. 

“My first relationship was more of an arrangement for situations and circumstances that I was thrown into. But I have been very clear that I was definitely never in love,” she added. 

“But I did fall in love very much with Sanjeev when I was in Calcutta. Maybe I’m not a relationship person so it didn’t work out. And as far as Peter goes, I think we started off as friends. Then we started working together. Over a period of time, I did start loving him. I was with him for so many years, over 10 years,” she said. 

“But I wouldn’t undo anything, because everything I’ve gone through in life has brought me here today.” 

If she weren’t single today, she said, “I probably wouldn’t have written a book, attended conclaves, taken up kickboxing and dancing”. 

“I’d probably be in Spain cooking fried eggs for Peter,” she added.

Even so, she said she does still believe in love. “But would I ever get into a relationship again? If I fall in love, yes, maybe I will get into a relationship again.” 

Indrani, who has over 16 lakh followers on Instagram, then talked about discovering social media and how it can be a very dark place. 

She said she was “never a social media person” to begin with, and started the account to “promote her book as suggested by my editors”. 

Asked if social media can be used as a means to escape one’s daily problems, she said it probably could, by people who just post the best version of themselves and live in that bubble. 

“Otherwise, social media can be a dark place if you let trolls control your narrative,” she said.

While Indrani has been openly talking about the Sheena Bora case, it remains sub judice. Asked whether she thinks the case will see closure soon, she said she is a firm believer in karmic justice. “Whatever people feel about me is irrelevant,” she added. “Even at the cost of being called a narcissist I’ll do what makes me happy. But somewhere, up there, the big guy is doing karmic justice for me.”