Stop Breathing If You Want to Live: Recreating India’s Bhopal Disaster in ‘the Railway Men’

A recent deadly explosion in a chemical unit in Maharashtra, India brought back memories of the December night in Bhopal. As 2024 marked the 40 th anniversary of practically the worst industrial disaster that India has witnessed, this study shall unveil the way in which Bhopal Gas Tragedy has been presented on screen. It focuses on the promotional material (teaser and trailer) of the drama series, The Railway Men, released on Netflix in 2023. The promotional materials of The Railway Men have been examined from the lens of Goffmann. This study aims to further the typology of experience as articulated by him in frame analysis.

A study like this shall add to the literature of representation of deadly disasters on the screen. This can be a tightrope for the creators to tread and visual semiotics will render a higher degree of narrative reading to such an art form. Our findings show that the representation of vulnerability of the characters makes the newer generation get a glimpse of what possibly transpired in 1984. This makes the viewers critical to their surroundings and has the potential to lead to more consciousness for the man made disasters that occur. We argue that such negligence on the part of the parties responsible for the incident are a fraction of the problem that looms large in India. This study aims to further the sentiment of compelling storytelling among filmmakers to speak for local audiences and shift focus from the ‘formula films’ that are being churned out in the film industry.