Starring: Mandira Bedi, Juhi Chawla, Babil, Divyendu Sharma, R. Madhavan, Sunny Hinduja, Raghubir Yadav, and Kay Kay Menon
Director: Rawail, Shiv
Writers: Shiv Rawail and Aayush Gupta
Watching via Netflix
Languages: Telugu, Hindi, and English
Runtime: four episodes, 55–65 minutes
Review of The Railway Men: Overview of the Story:
The plot centers on Indian Railways’ assistance to those who were losing hope that they would live to see another day in the aftermath of the Bhopal Gas Disaster. How the station master of “The Railway Men” in Bhopal Junction, Iftekaar Siddiqui (Kay Kay Menon), his recently hired apprentice Imad Riaz (Babil Khan), and a thief known for looting trains and railway stations—Express Bandit—(Divyendu Sharma)—join forces to carry out the most desperate evacuation plan in order to lessen the disaster that could have wiped out the city’s entire population.
The main narrative jumps between the few hours leading up to the gas leak and the night of December 2, 1984, that followed the disaster. As the manager of Union Carbide, a chemical plant that spewed extremely toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) into the air due to a malfunction caused by inadequate infrastructure—a consequence of the company being a “loss-making” endeavor for its US owners—Kamruddin (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) plays this role. Kumawat (Sunny Hinduja), a revolutionary but insignificant reporter, is constantly trying to obtain the evidence because he wants to publish the truth with exact facts. It tells the story of how some brave railway workers chose to carry out their duties when death was looming large over Bhopal.
Review of The Railway Men: Effectiveness
The dark production design by Rajat Poddar and the screenplay by Aayush Gupta take you straight into the tragic scene. That’s what gives it a Chernobyl-esque treatment—it suffocates you along with the characters in the episode. A montage including every character that is currently involved in the tale concludes the first three episodes, which makes sense since there is an overwhelming amount of them.
Such performances are typically associated with being “slow burn.” However, this one ignites everything so quickly that it does so in less than four hours. It depicts the extraordinary efforts made by the Railway Men to save lives, touches on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots just enough to create a strong sense of tension, examines the politics used to justify the tragic event, and much more. It also highlights the personal struggles these characters faced both before and after the accident.
Nope, it treats that as the center of attention for everything that happens around it and doesn’t completely deviate from the highlight of The Railway Men being superheroes for the general public.
Review of The Railway Men: Standout Performance:
A petition to rename Kay Kay Menon as Kicka** King—that is, as the king who kicks assholes when it comes to acting with anybody—is being submitted. His support of Babil during their sequences together says a lot about his acting ability.
Even if you wish to assess him as a unique person, he reminds you of Irrfan because they have similar eyes and facial expressions. It’s sad, but not horrible. Bravo to Babil’s dialect coach for helping him become an expert in the accent of his role.
After all these years, Divyendu Sharma finally achieves something in Mirzapur that matches his talent. He maintains eccentricity throughout his performance, which facilitates connection. In their individual special appearance roles, R. Madhavan and Sunny Hinduja provide just the appropriate amount of excitement and passion. It’s okay that Maddy gets an uplifting, skillfully crafted monologue that leads to an overdone scene.
Review of The Railway Men: What Doesn’t Work
Some subplots come across as half-baked because everything is wrapped up in just four episodes, which leaves your curiosity about them unsatisfied. They’re unfinished in a way, leaving you with an unclear void, but not necessarily stuffed. Although I don’t mind the depressing color grading of these shows, there has to be a noticeable distinction between dull and dark.
Final Thoughts on The Railway Men Review:
All in all, the filmmakers reconstruct sequences based on the original, tragic photos, demonstrating the precise amount of enthusiasm and investigation required to not only bring a terrifying mishap to life on screen but also to present it in a way that sustains tension throughout the entire running length.
