A Bhopal station manager, a bandit, and a railway engineer team up to save the thousands of people at the Bhopal railway station before it’s too late in Yash Raj Film’s debut web series based on true happenings. How wrong can you go with a top cast of Madhavan, K.K. Menon and Divyendu Sharma?

Yash Raj Films, a reputed name in the Indian filmmaking business for eons has gifted ardent fans of cinema some memorable, iconic and power-packed entertainers out with emotional drama, nail biting thrillers, action-packed viewings and India’s first ever spy-verse. It is said that evolution is the only way forward, and that’s what YRF has experienced recently by launching its very first web series, The Railway Men (TRM) on Netflix.

TRM is directed by debutant Shiv Rawail and is written by Ayush Gupta. The web series is inspired by the true incident of the Bhopal gas tragedy. In the past quite a few films have been made around the same subject including Ravi Kumar’s Bhopal: A Prayer For Rain (2014) and Mahesh Mathai’s Bhopal Express (1999), which interestingly also featured Kay Kay Menon in the lead.

The lead cast of TRM includes R. Madhavan, Menon, Divyendu Sharma, Babil Khan, and Sunny Hinduja. The other cast includes Juhi Chawla, Mandira Bedi and Rajpal Yadav. Rawail’s directorial debut has some prominent names who are known for class-acts and method acting. Gupta and Rawail teamed up for the story, screenplay and dialogue to recreate the destruction, chaos, and helplessness of people who went through the turmoil of the Bhopal gas tragedy.

Interestingly, in 1979 it was the same YRF that made Kala Pathar on the Chasnala mining disaster, another dark tale from India. The movie considered as the classic featured Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, and Shatrughan Sinha.

TRM's story revolves around the Bhopal disaster, where approximately 45 tons of methyl isocyanate gas escaped from a plant owned by a subsidiary of the US based Union Carbide Corporation. Subsequent investigations revealed that inadequate operating and safety procedures at the understaffed plant were responsible for the catastrophe. It was one of those accidents that not only ended the lives of thousands of innocent people, but also affected the lives of those who survived, and the next generation that lived the rest of their lives in Bhopal. Poor people could not run from the disaster and being helpless embraced the consequences of the accident, which were lethal and disheartening.

As a debutant director, Rawail manages to showcase a fine range of emotions spread throughout the canvas. The projection of multiple characters, circled in the centre of the catastrophe is sensitively handled by him, which is clap-worthy. TRM is set in the year 1984 when the tragedy took over Bhopal. The city highlights different cultures Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims living together, and the sense of togetherness and being there for each other effortlessly seeps into the audiences.

Initial scenes of every character depicts most of their personalities which is a mix of different shades. Menon plays Iftekhar Siddiqui, the upright, god-fearing and dutiful station master of Bhopal Junction Railway. He is observant, focused, sharp and very passionate about his job. There is a past associated with him that doesn’t allow him to sleep peacefully. Babil Khan as Imad Riaz is a fresher who joined Bhopal Junction Railway as a loco pilot. He is a sharp kid with a good heart. The interesting part is, both Siddiqui and Riaz have similarities in their characters and their first interaction where Siddiqui gives a task to Riaz sets the rapport between them. The boy makes a good impression to an old man who is not easily impressed. The scene brings a smile to the audience, and not in a funny way.

Sharma plays Balwant Yadav aka ‘Express Bandit’ famous for looting trains. How he interacts with different people depending upon their personalities is an interesting act that Divyendu puts together. One of his initial scenes with the kids Ratlu and Markhand showcases his sentimental side that proves he is not a completely black character. The scene helps in creating a bond between the kid brothers and Yadav sweetly. Madhavan plays the General Manager of West Central Railway Zone, who is even a few steps ahead of Siddiqui when it comes to duty, righteousness with a slight hint of craziness, which is why he is known as ‘pagal’ and ‘sir phira’ by his colleagues and sub-ordinates. There are other characters which lend support to the entire tale like the headstrong journalist Jugmohan (Sunny Hinduja), Qamaruddin (Dibyendu Bhattacharya), Juhi Chawla and Railway guard (Raghubir Yadav) who team to make the series interesting, engaging and enjoyable with their peculiar styles and personalities.

How these characters face the Bhopal Gas tragedy is what The Railway Men is all about. Every character brings a backstory to the table yet the element of surprise keeps the audience hooked. Slowly and gradually these layers peel off. There are many scenes which brilliantly and sensitively highlight the chaos that people must have experienced at the time. The change of heart can be observed in many characters and this makes the entire web series a delight to watch. After all, every individual has the tendency to cry, feel sad and laugh or deceive. Hence, full marks to the writers to write characters that are real and relatable.

TRM is a powerful web series that makes its audience cry effortlessly and feel for almost all characters. One of the kids singing Kala Pathar’s song “Ek Raasta Hai Zindagi” depicts the journey of life and perfectly fits the ambience of the railway station where both brothers polish people’s shoes. The way one of the boys carries his younger brothers’ body due to the gas leak is heart wrenching with Menon’s reaction to it being the last nail in the coffin. Another scene where Divyendu teaches Markhand “Hum jaison ko apni zindagi ka maqsad khud dhoondna parta hai” [People like us need to find a purpose to live] is one of the finest lines of the web series besides several others. The chemistry between the kid brothers also depicts the hollowness that fills their heart after the death of their mother when the younger one asks “Ma ki lori ki dhun kya thhi? Sun kay achhi neend ati thi” [What was the tune of our mother’s lullaby? It used to make me sleepy.]

The scene where Madhavan asks his crew about their family members and later responds to their exact question is emotionally charged and the dialogue further fires up everyone’s emotions. Similarly, his phone calls with Chawla are very maturely written, acted and filmed. Menon floods great scenes throughout but a few scenes stay with the audience and one of them is when he wakes up in the ground surrounded by dead-bodies. The way he reacts and expresses his instant emotions send chills to the viewers. The actor delivers one of his best performances here.

For Babil Khan, TRM, is the perfect outing that makes him stand out as the deserving and very talented newcomer, Irrfan Khan would be proud of him. The way the former delivers his lines, the hint of dialect that is subtle yet very observant of him and outstanding. His emotional scenes are extremely impactful. He makes his audience feel the pain and depth in his lines “Ye mera shehar hai, ye mere loag hain” [This is my city, these are my people] and “Kam chhor ke jaunga, tau ami ghar nahin anay dengi” [My mother won’t let me enter the house, if I go without completing my work.]

Divyendu is impressive as Balwant Yadav, the instant change in his character entertaining and his scene in the waiting room when handling a tensed situation and responding to passengers, Menon and others is super fine. Hats off to showcase his spontaneity in just a few minutes long scene. Even in the climax his scene with Sunny Hinduja and then with Menon are just a reminder that the actor has depth and he knows who to speak without speaking much.

Yadav is a veteran and his short-lived character will impress his fans and viewers like always. The way he kept on saying “Saab theek hojayega” [Everything will be fine] touches hearts. Juhi Chawla is apt and excels in the climax in a few scenes. Special mention for Dibyendu Bhattachrya who [came into spotlight in Mirzapur], plays Qamaruddin, the manager at Union Carbide and in the first episode he engages his audience with a great performance. Ditto for Sunny Hinduja, who is impactful as the honest journalist he plays and does full justice to his character.

The direction of TRM is very tight. There are no unnecessary scenes in the web series, hence keeping the audience hooked. In the almost four-hour long web series divided into four episodes, audiences don’t lose the interest and are glued to their screens. Sets of railway bogies, the waiting area, the platform and inside of the train are mammoth and extremely realistic.

TRM is the story of a few unnoticed heroes who got lost in the history, the tragedy is considered to be massive since more than 5,000 people lost their lives due to the gas leak in just 24 hours and that’s not all, the area is shown affected till 1996 i.e., 12 years later and people living with disorders and after-effects of the accident. The series is a good watch for those who enjoy sentimental stuff, great performances, emotional dialogues and a fine cinematic experience. TRM is the perfect web series for YRF to have marked its debut.

Shafiq Ul Hasan Siddiqui is an avid movie buff, and film and drama critic and a digital inbound marketer. He tweets as www.twitter.com/shafiqulhasan81. All information and facts are the responsibility of the writer

All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the writer