The Railway Men Ending Explained: Did Constable Become A Good Man? Do Imad & Iftekaar Survive?
Bhopal Gas Tragedy - one of the biggest blots on India¡¯s history, still sends shivers down the spine, every time it is even mentioned.?
What went down that fateful night of Dec 2, 1984 is beyond comprehensible. Most of us can¡¯t even imagine the PTSD of those who lived to tell the tale. To pick up such a traumatic event for a web series is a ballsy move and then, to be able to translate every emotion and battle convincingly is a feat that The Railway Men has not only achieved but aced.
What Is The Railway Men About?
The four-part series directed by Shiv Rawail is a story of courage and valor set against the backdrop of the world¡¯s biggest industrial disaster - Bhopal Gas Tragedy. It narrates the tragic gas leak which occurred at the Union Carbide company killing over 15,000 people in a single night and leaving generations after generations crippled in its wake.?
A set of fictional characters based on real people bring the story to life. It? provides a moving account of India's railway workers, who went above and beyond the call of duty to rescue the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people stuck in a defenseless city.
What Is The Story Of The Bhopal Gas Tragedy Of 1984?
It all began on the fateful night of Dec 2, 1984, when a lethal gas leak occurred at the Union Carbide India Limited Factory in the capital city of Madhya Pradesh - Bhopal. Owned by an American chemical company, it housed three tanks of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas which was used in manufacturing pesticides.?
On Dec 2, one of the machines malfunctioned which led to the leak that ultimately resulted in rapid spreading of toxic gas in the air affecting the entire city of Bhopal along with neighbouring areas. The death toll reached 15,000 people with over 5 lac survivors who suffered respiratory issues, blindness, and other health problems.
The Beginning Of An End
We are introduced to a journalist Jagmohan who is on a mission to investigate the malpractices occurring at Union Carbide and thinks of it as a ¡®volcano¡¯ waiting to erupt. He connects with Kamruddin, a worker at the factory who notices all the warning signs but is shunned by the superiors when he tries to bring it to their attention.?
Mini series The Railway Men begins on the morning of the tragedy. It appeared to be a usual day of hustle bustle with people following their usual routine. At the chemical factory, some glitches arise which are followed by an alarm of gas leak but soon the situation is taken under control by the in-charge Kamruddin.?
However, the panic that followed the false alarm made it pretty evident that the factory is a ticking time bomb and none of the workers are prepared or well-equipped to handle the crisis if it boils down to it.??
The American manager is hardly worried despite all the safety breaches. When one of the pipes burst open at night, the workers run for life without bothering to fix the leak. Kamruddin, who is well aware of the repercussions, runs to shut off the other tanks to prevent further leaks and does so successfully, but loses his life after choking on toxic and poisonous fumes erupting from the pipe.?
Over the next few hours, the MIC gas spreads all over Bhopal, and grips common people who aren¡¯t even aware of what¡¯s making them fall down like a pack of cards. It takes them a while to realise that the air that they are breathing is their mortal enemy!
While the city is struggling to stay alive, the scene at the Bhopal junction is even worse. In between the grim and unpleasant sights of people dying everywhere, the viewers are shown flashbacks to establish the stories of the Railway Men before their heroic acts of saving lives.
Meet, Iftekaar Siddiqui, Imad Riaz, Balwant Yadav and Rati Pandey - The Four Railway Men Who Are The Central Characters Of This Gory Tale
Station master Iftekaar Siddiqui, played by Kay Kay Menon, is a righteous man who is shown to be a righteous railway employee, who believes in going above and beyond to perform his assigned duties. He¡¯s always on his toes to serve the citizens of India and run his station in the most upright manner. The reason why he is so adamant about the safety and well-being of travellers is a tragic incident in the past where he couldn¡¯t save a young boy from his death. The memory still haunts him and doesn¡¯t let him sleep at night even though more than ten years have passed. Later in the series, he reveals that ever since this incident he promised himself that he will try to save each and every passenger that needs help.
The second titular character is that of Imad Riaz played by Babil Khan, a former Union Carbide worker. He quit his job when his best friend and fellow colleague died due to toxic gases and the company refused to take the responsibility and compensate the deceased¡¯s family. He then joins the railways as a locomotive pilot and begins his training under station master Iftekaar.
The third character isn¡¯t a railway employee but a thief (played by Divyenndu) who poses as an RPF officer. He visits Bhopal Junction with a motive to steal money from the station master¡¯s treasure chest. His name is kept a secret until the very end. Initially introduced as ¡®Express Bandit¡¯, he is addressed as constable by everyone.?
Last but not the least, is railway GM Rati Pandey played by R Madhavan. He has a brief appearance yet a very vital one. Pandey is a recusant manager who prefers not to abide by the rules. With no permission from the authorities, he takes it upon himself to carry out a rescue mission to help the people of tragedy-struck Bhopal.?
Apart from these, there¡¯s DG Personnel Rajeshwari Janglay(estranged wife of Rati Panday), who tries to make the politicians take some action and save the people of Bhopal.
Roles Of These Four Railway Men During The Crisis Which Follows The Leak
After the leak started spreading, it reached the junction which was hardly ten minutes away from the factory. Even in the late hours of the night, the station was buzzing with people and when they inhaled the toxic fumes, many fell sick. SM Iftekaar and Constable, who are present in the former¡¯s office, soon realize that a grave incident is happening outside the covered office room. The SM jumps to action and directs the struggling passengers to the air-conditioned waiting room. The thief-turned-constable is also asked to contribute in controlling the crowd which slims his chances of stealing the money from the SM¡¯s office.
Parallely, Imad who is at the railway yard, learning the ropes on the first day of his new job, notices his fellow workers passing out. He doesn¡¯t take a long time to figure out that it¡¯s due to a gas leak at the factory where he used to work previously. He gets inside the repaired train engine and takes it to the junction. Upon reaching and taking into account the chaos that has struck there, Imad tells the station master that they are short of time as the gas will eventually take the lives of everyone. Iftekaar then directs Imad to try and repair the communication line that had been out of order so that they can send across a distress message and ask for help from neighbouring stations.?
Hundreds of miles away, at the Itarsi junction, GM Rati Pandey finds out about the tragedy and immediately directs the authority to divert trains en route Bhopal and arrange for a relief train consisting of medical supplies, doctors and other helpers to the affected city.
To make matters worse, the Gorakhpur-Bombay Express carrying thousands of passengers is shown to be heading straight towards tragedy-stricken Bhopal who will get exposed to the gas the minute they arrive at the station. Rati Pandey has to not only send relief but also stall that train from reaching Bhopal.?
What Happens To The Four Railway Men In The End?
With such a short notice to the Gorakhpur-Bombay Express, the pilot doesn¡¯t get intimated on time and the train arrives at Bhopal Junction which has eventually turned into a graveyard. SM and constable warn people to stay inside and mask up while helping the ones at the platform get aboard the train. There¡¯s limited time and a sea of chaos. It worsens further when more people arrive in buses and try to hop on to the already full carriages of the train. Amid the stampede, Iftekaar falls down and seems to be dead. Once the chaos subsides and the people pick his body up for cremation, he suddenly wakes up with a start proving that he has indeed survived the tragedy.
Sadly, Imad wasn¡¯t as lucky. His heroic deed saved the collision of GM¡¯s special relief train and Gorakhpur-Bombay Express but he passed away like a martyr.?
Rati Pandey successfully pulled off the rescue mission, by providing firstaid and supplies to the injured and sick people. His daunting efforts and going against government orders proved to be fruitful as many people got saved and the situation was eventually brought back to normal.
Even though it is kept ambiguous, this tragedy also helped him reconcile with Rajeshwari.
As for the Express Bandit, it is revealed in the end that his real name is Balwant Yadav. He undergoes a change of heart after the police assume that the money was stolen by Iftekaar. His conscience didn¡¯t allow him to pass on the blame of his wrongdoing to the honest Station Master who didn¡¯t even bother about his own life in this quest to save people.
Balwant puts the money back in the safe and then leaves Bhopal on a different train. One year later, Balwant returns to Bhopal junction and is delighted to meet Iftekaar.?
As the two have a sweet reunion, they recall the horrific night and the SM then reveals that he knew that Balwant wasn¡¯t a police constable but the said thief in disguise.?
Balwant Yadav or Iftekaar Sidiqqui - Who was the MVP of the night?
Of course, this doesn¡¯t mean that Imad¡¯s sacrifice isn¡¯t under contention. His last minute rescue saved the lives of thousands of people. Similarly, had Rati Pandey followed the authorities¡¯ orders, many more people would have died. His determination to send relief and aide is nothing short of heroic.
However, the SM and Constable, were the men on the ground braving the crowd and running from pillar to post to extend help to whoever came looking for it. While the SM was an honest and helpful man right from the start, the character arc of Balwant Yadav was very satisfying to watch.?
Initially, he is shown to be compassionate towards the orphans as he was also one. However, he is also ruthless when it comes to attempting robberies. When he arrived at Bhopal, he tried his best to get ahold of the keys to the safe. Even when it was made known that a gas leak had occurred and many were dying by inhaling the poisonous gas, he didn¡¯t falter from his goal.?
He made several attempts but failed. He kept looking for the right opportunity till the last minute. After Iftekaar is assumed to be dead, it was Balwant who checked his pulse. The second he was sure that the brave man had passed away, he wasted no time to steal the keys of the safe from his pocket.?
The point of his redemption came rushing back when he overheard the police officers talking ill of the presumed dead SM Iftekaar. When they questioned his morals and ethics, Balwant got miffed. He couldn¡¯t bear the thought of the SM¡¯s reputation being spoiled because of his greed.?
He then decided to walk the same path of honesty and integrity that Iftekaar loved and puts the money back in the safe. Mind you, he did all this when he didn¡¯t know that Iftekaar had miraculously survived.?
In the last scene, one year after the tragedy, he visits Bhopal Junction once again and is elated to know that Iftekaar is alive and kicking. He introduces himself as Balwant Yadav and returns a currency note which remained with him after he put back the money in the locker. Iftekaar knew that he was a thief but the smile on his face once he takes the note denotes that he is sure that Yadav has changed completely and isn¡¯t a crook anymore.
In my personal opinion, looking at the overall picture, it won¡¯t be wrong to say that Balwant is the true MVP of The Railway Men.
Apart from the four leading men, the series also stars Sunny Hinduja, Juhi Chawla Mehta, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Philip Rosch, Raghubir Yadav, Mandira Bedi, Connor Keene and Sunita Rajwar among others.
YRF Entertainment production The Railway Men Is available to stream on Netflix.
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