That truth is often stranger than fiction fits this new Netflix documentary like a glove! The story of how a bubbly radio personality and marketing executive’s life is turned upside-down by years-long online deception unfolds as a shocking thriller – the only catch is that it is about a true story.
Kirat Assi first met Bobby as an online friend whose brother was dating her cousin Simran. In the close-knit Kenyan Sikh community, it was a case of six degrees of separation where everyone knew each other. Through the course of turbulent relationships in both their lives, Kirat and Bobby went on to find a deeper virtual connection even though she had only ever caught a glimpse of him at a club in Brighton many years ago. The rest of their bond and eventual romance unfolded with a Facebook friendship as the starting point.
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Months soon spilled over into years as Kirat bought into a convoluted conspiracy claiming Bobby was bound by the secrecy necessitated by the Witness Protection Programme in New York. There were enough green flags along the way to make her believe every word and soon Bobby seemed to exercise complete control over every aspect of her life.
After eight long years when it was time to finally confront her virtual fiancé in person, the truth of what she found at a home in Brighton that Bobby shared with his wife Sanj shattered Kirat’s entire belief system to the core. To then find out that the person behind this unbelievably elaborate con was in fact her cousin Simran came as a bombshell that devastated her entire family.
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There are some documentaries that shock audiences every step of the way for their sheer incredulity and ‘Sweet Bobby’ falls very much in that genre. It sends shivers down the spine with each frame. As Kirat explains in the end, she chose to speak out in the documentary as a cautionary tale about catfishing – defined as creating a fictitious online persona or fake identity with the intent of deception.
It is certainly not a victim-less crime, which makes it all the more shocking that no one has been charged in this particular catfishing saga.