Employees at the Union Carbide India Limited work under negligible safety protocols. Imad Riaz, a former employee, talks to a journalist, Kumawat, about the death of his friend at the plant due to toxic gas inhalation. He says that the management took no action and fired him instead for complaining. A manager at the plant, Kamruddin, also tries to give information to Kumawat about the lack of safety at the crumbling plant. Meanwhile, Iftekaar Siddiqui is an idealistic station master of the Bhopal Junction railway station. A dacoit named Balwant Yadav intent on looting the station safe-house introduces himself to Iftekaar as a cop in pursuit of the dacoit. On the night of 2 December 1984, due to malfunctioning instruments and untrained workers at the plant, a highly toxic gas Methyl isocyanate (MIC) leaks into the atmosphere, instantly killing many workers, including Kamruddin.
2
"Episode 2"
Shiv Rawail
Aayush Gupta
18 November 2023 (2023-11-18)
As the gas starts spreading into the highly populated Bhopal city, hordes of people begin to collapse in the streets, many of whom die. At Bhopal Junction station, Iftekaar and Balwant are initially confused by the chaos. They soon realise that people who were indoors were seemingly unharmed. They try to gather the crowds into the station waiting room. Due to incomplete cable repair work, communication systems are down, and Iftekaar has no way to reach nearby stations and warn them. Imad, who had begun a new job as a loco pilot, becomes aware of the gas leak due to his past history. He goes to the station to warn Iftekaar. Meanwhile, at a nearby station, Rati Pandey, a general manager for the Indian Railways, becomes aware of the situation.
3
"Episode 3"
Shiv Rawail
Aayush Gupta
18 November 2023 (2023-11-18)
Rati tries to persuade DG (Personnel) Rajeshwari Janglay to take action and send help to the people stranded in Bhopal. However, her pleas are neglected by her superiors. Rajeshwari entrusts Rati to disobey the orders and help them anyway. Rati inspires several railway workers to help him in the cause, and they set off towards Bhopal. At Bhopal Junction, Iftekaar, Imad, and Balwant find their own way to rescue people trapped at the station by putting them in a goods train. Meanwhile, Madsen, the American head of the plant, refuses to provide any help. A German scientist, who seemingly has an anti-dote to MIC is thwarted in his effort by both the Indian Government and Union Carbide.
4
"Episode 4"
Shiv Rawail
Aayush Gupta
18 November 2023 (2023-11-18)
Unable to warn them, a train with 1000 passengers makes its way towards Bhopal Junction. The train is delayed due to anti-Sikh rioters. Meanwhile, Rati and his workers make their way towards the junction as well. Iftekaar and Imad find a way to avoid a collision, but Imad dies due to inhalation. After helping the people board the rescue train, Iftekaar too seemingly dies. Balwant retrieves his key to steal money from the vault. Rati helps the survivors with medical supplies, and it is revealed that Rajeshwari and he are married. Meanwhile, Kumawat, appalled at the disaster, begins documenting the event through photographs. On the next day, rescue trains carry many survivors away from the city. At a makeshift graveyard, thousands of bodies are seen to be buried and burnt. Iftekaar, like a few others who were pronounced dead, wakes up. Balwant has a change of heart, and returns the money. Many years later, Kumawat revisits Bhopal, and sees that long-term effects of the disaster are still being felt.
Production
The Railway Men marked the directorial debut of Shiv Rawail, who was an assistant director at Yash Raj Films.[1] It also marked the first streaming fiction series of the company, under their subdivision YRF Entertainment.[1]
The series began filming on 1 December 2021 and wrapped on 11 May 2022.[6][7]
Release
Two former employees of Union Carbide India Limited, convicted in the gas leak case, filed a plea to prevent the release of the series; the Bombay High Court rejected their case.[8]
The series was released on Netflix on 18 November 2023.[9]
Reception
Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in found The Railway Men to be a "compelling saga of ordinary heroism"; she particularly praised the production design by Rajat Poddar for his "remarkably faithful recreations" of the era.[10] Sonil Dedhia of News18 considered it a "passionate, emotionally resonant, and incredibly moving" tale of under-appreciated heroes, but felt that too many subplots and backstories prevented it from being a "taut thriller".[11] Mayur Sanap of Rediff.com commended Rawail for handling the tragic event with "seriousness and respect without going overboard with the dramatic impact".[12]
The Indian Express'sShubhra Gupta termed it "a worthy effort, which brings back an expansive, old-fashioned style of storytelling to a still-relevant event", and particularly praised the performances of Kay Kay Menon and Babil Khan.[13]India Today's Zinia Bandyopadhyay considered Khan to be the "real star of the show".[14]Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV opined, "The Railway Men is buoyed by a clutch of laudable performances and storytelling that does not slide below a certain level of competence. But it could have been much, much more."[15]Hindustan Times's Santanu Das believed that the series' handling of the tragedy was not at par with the handling of the Chernobyl disaster by the HBO miniseries Chernobyl (2019).[16]
