Another day, another true crime documentary. On October 16 Netflix is bringing to our screens a disturbing true story around catfishing: Sweet Bobby.
Based on a podcast series created by Tortoise Media and released to huge acclaim in 2021, Sweet Bobby tells the true story of Kirat, whose life is changed forever when she connects with who she thinks is a mutual friend on Facebook – but the reality turns out to be very different.
In an interview, Kirat opened up to GLAMOUR about the ways in which her catfishing experience took away and manipulated her consent. “People don't realise that the consent is given to the person that you think you're speaking to, not the person behind that,” she said.
Director Lyttanya spoke to GLAMOUR about the change herself and Kirat were fighting for by making the documentary. “From the beginning, Kirat was really clear that there wasn’t enough legal framework that would bring people who do things like this to justice, and she experienced a lot of disbelief when she first approached the police, and the stress and the emotional burden that caused,” she said.
“As a filmmaker, I definitely always want to do something that will spark some thought and ignite a wider conversation, and I hope that the film brings this back into public consciousness and at least start to or reignites a discussion around this.”
Here's everything we know so far about the new Netflix documentary and true story behind Sweet Bobby.
What is Sweet Bobby about?
Netflix's plot synopsis reads: “After an online friendship blossoms into true love, Kirat finds herself turning detective to uncover the truth behind her mysterious fiancé, Bobby. Inspired by the hit podcast, Sweet Bobby is the story of a fairytale romance gone horribly wrong.”
We'll see photos, screenshots, and exclusive interviews with Assi herself as part of the six-part documentary.
The true story behind Sweet Bobby
Kirat first connected with “Bobby”, a cardiologist known as Dr Bobby Jandu, on Facebook, thinking they had were mutual friends through London's Sikh community. Over nine years, from 2009 to 2018 a friendship formed and deepened – ending up in them being involved in a romantic relationship.
But this relationship turned sinister, with Bobby's controlling behaviour resulting in Kirat being signed off from work due to stress.
There were all kinds of reasons that “Bobby” gave for the two of them not being able to meet, including that he was in the witness protection programme. Kirat later discovered that while the profile was based on a real man, it was not him talking to her.
In fact, the person who was catfishing Kirat hadn't just adopted Bobby's persona – who is a real-life person, and we hear from him in the documentary – they also pretended to be 60 other people from within Kirat and Bobby's social circle, to keep the lie going. It's remarkable, and terrifying, that technology gives people the opportunity and access to do this.
Eventually, after the relationship between Kirat and “Bobby” developed into something more sinister and coercive, Kirat decided to track him down through a private investigator. She turned up on his doorstep in Brighton, for him to tell her he'd never spoken to her before.
The shocking Sweet Bobby true story is one of the longest-running and most complex case of catfishing to date. It is a stark reminder of the perils and dangers of online dating, as it remains our most common method of meeting a romantic partner.
She recently paused filming as she 'didn't want to orgasm any more'.
