A tete-e-tete with the creator and star cast of The Railway Men 

The Railway Men explores the resilient nature of mankind that comes together, despite its differences in times of need. Indulge speaks to debutante director Shiv Rawail and actors Kay Kay Menon, Sunny Hinduja, and Divyenndu who star in the mini-series streaming on Netflix which is set amidst the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984. The show also stars R. Madhavan and Babil Khan.

Shiv, how did you re-create The Bhopal Gas Tragedy for today's audience? 

The available documented imageries are of the morning after because not much was available of the night. So that night which formed the base of the stories we have heard, had to be created from scratch. Most of my crew or me weren’t born during the gas leak. Honestly, I would give all the credit to the crew who worked hard. Their intention was to be authentic and aesthetic. As filmmakers we took up this challenge and hopefully, when the audience sees it, they feel what went through that night.

What made the railway men your prime focus of the narrative, Shiv? 

Once you start moving into the story you understand the perspective. What attracted us in the first place was that it was the darkest night in modern Indian history and we are telling the story of hope, courage, and human resilience.

Tell us about your roles in the series.

Divyenndu: Balwant Yadav is one man with many faces who comes from a different side of the railways with his selfish motives. But he sees certain things happening and people around him that inspire him to find that space of emotional connectivity. The transition of the character and internal conflict was interesting to play with.

Kay Kay Menon: Station master Iftekaar Siddiqui is strict about rules and protocols for the simple reason that the duty of the railways is to not only reach the people on time but also safely. When this incident happens his PTSD takes over and the station becomes a fortress that he has to defend as redemption for his PTSD.

Sunny: I play the role of Jagmohan Kumawat who’s a reporter. He is a small–town, responsible, and idealistic reporter who wants to write the truth and reach out to the people. I feel Kumawat had a larger way to protect and care for the city. He has a cause and he’s at it. It’s inspiring for me.

Kay Kay, you had previously starred in Bhopal Express on the same subject. How different was it exploring the same event for The Railway Men?

What were common were the gas tragedy and the trains. The advantage for me was that I already knew about the tragedy in detail, I had a peek into it early in my career. But what interested me here was the contribution of the railway men because I thought that’s a hat tip to the railway organisation that we take for granted.

Any personal memories of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy

Divyenndu: My friend Chandrahas from FTII, his father was present at the station on that night. He lost his life while serving. When he narrated the story there was silence and then you move on with life. Chandrahas is also no more today because his kidneys were deeply affected by the gas. This is a little token of appreciation from our side to recognise their acts of bravery.

Shiv, what did you keep in mind while drawing the narrative from true incidents?

I think the reading and researching didn’t stop till we delivered the final product. We got footage from all over the world. It’s a responsibility to be authentic and believable.

How is the OTT platform giving you the creative push?   

Kay Kay Menon: There are two poles, the cinema and daily soaps. In the middle, you have OTT which gives you the optimum time to juice out an entire story and flush out characters completely. That’s the basic difference. The directors and writers need to adapt. After every episode you need to push the audience to continue watching, so the screenplay has to be designed differently. As far as viewing goes, OTT is an individual viewing experience. Theatrical releases have a mass psychology like the party syndrome. When you go to a party even if you can’t dance you will still tap your feet. Those same kinds of films might not do well in OTT because individual views are much sorted. In OTT content becomes the king. You need to have actors to deliver that content. The star charisma quotient is less compared to cinema. The advantage is that we come home to you.

Divyenndu:  This is so merit-based that you are one click away from the next show. It’s not just Indian content but we are talking about global content. What’s so exciting is that it’s a writer’s medium to begin with. If it’s not written nicely on paper, it will never translate on screen.