The Railway Men (2023) s01e01 Episode Script

Do you know the punishment
for taking a life in this country?
Can you tell us who you've arrested?
Mr. Gokhale, Mr. Manohar and Mr. Anderson.
-You've arrested Mr. Anderson…
-Yes.
-…the world chairman?
-Yes, we have.
Mahatma Gandhi once said,
"An eye for an eye
makes the whole world blind."
He was right.
But the man who killed him
got the death penalty.
Well, that was Gandhi's life.
We're here to solve a problem.
And I'm here as a representative
of the US government
to lend any assistance possible.
So what are you going to do now?
I'm gonna try and get in
to see Mr. Anderson.
And have him freed?
Whatever needs to be done.
The truth is that, in this country,
if there's something cheaper
than sea salt and homespun cloth,
it's the life of the common man.
"Non-violence is the supreme religion."
Isn't that what Gandhi said?
But what happens when someone
violates that religion in this country?
What happens
when someone takes 15,000 lives?
As punishment,
he gets a government-issued plane,
with VIP service.
Champagne, caviar,
and a grand ride back home.
And the rest of us?
We have always been here.
We are still here,
and we will be here forever.
Striving to find the meaning
of Gandhi's teachings,
in a country that neither
punishes those who take lives,
nor rewards the ones who save them.
Sir!
Good morning, Abbu.
…innings and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan
took six wickets.
With his spin bowling…
-Munisa, a cup of tea please.
-What?
I haven't prepared breakfast yet.
No, I'm not hungry. Tea is enough.
What happened?
Aren't you on the night shift today?
Yes, but the Ijtema pilgrims
will be coming tonight.
I have to prepare the station.
Nonsense.
When a big tree falls,
the ground below it trembles.
The Sikhs are going through hell…
…and look at him.
His mother was killed, son.
After such a tragedy,
it's difficult to tell right from wrong.
Ammi, you don't know how the world works,
so forget it.
What about the job, Nawaz?
Did you go to the bureau?
I told you
there's a posting in the Railways.
It's a decent job.
They pay well too. What else do you want?
Abbu, I've told you a thousand times,
I won't spend my life in a black suit,
bowing down to the government.
I have an interview tomorrow
at Union Carbide.
Union Car--
You want to work there?
They have no morals, no ethics.
They'll go to any length to make profits.
And you want to work there?
Do you want to earn respect or just money?
The MIC has gone up to 100 degrees!
Check the pressure!
Pressure is shooting up! 25 PSI!
The MIC tank can't handle such pressure!
The temperature and pressure
are out of control!
Do something
before the gas starts leaking!
Someone call Mr. Kamruddin!
Inform the control room!
-Take him to the medical wing!
-Go!
Shit!
How did this happen?
Should we burn the gas
with the flare, sir?
The flare tower hasn't been working
for 3 months.
-Were you washing the pipes?
-I don't know anything about that, sir.
-Did you fix the slip blinds?
-Slip blinds? What are those?
Where are you going, sir?
To check the tanks.
The MIC tank can blow up if it gets hot.
It's ice cold. Fucking hell.
The meter at the plant is faulty!
-Everything is fine!
-Okay, sir.
Pressure 2 PSI.
Temperature 10 degrees.
Everything is fine.
Your gauge is faulty. Get rid of it.
Get to work.
-Sir.
-We can work without panicking, you know?
-Don't hit the alarm without checking--
-Don't worry, Kamruddin.
I got the alarm for you.
I don't want to hear that sound
unless someone is dead
or dying.
Find the worker who hit the alarm,
get rid of him.
Yes, sir.
Keep panicking! Well done.
You know everything, Kumawat bhai.
Why do you want to hear it again?
Well, I told you,
the lawyer from Delhi wants to hear it.
He wants to see
if our case will hold water.
It's your first day at work.
It's not easy to get a job
with the Railways.
You're responsible
for three more people now.
I'm doing this for them, Ammi.
And I won't lie.
To some extent, for myself too.
-I'm recording, Imad.
-Okay.
So, Mr. Mirchandani,
hear it for yourself and decide.
My name is Imad Riaz.
Tehsil Berasia, District Bhopal.
Do you work at Union Carbide?
No. I used to.
What did you do there?
I used to drive their trucks.
Carbide makes chemicals for crops.
To kill the bugs. Pesticides.
And to make that pesticide,
Carbide uses a chemical called MIC.
Methyl isocyanate.
Where does this MIC come from?
Is it made at the factory or imported?
Now it's made here.
It wasn't before.
It would come in big ships from America.
My job was to drive it
from Trombay port to Bhopal.
What type of a chemical is this?
Could you tell me more about it?
The engineer
used to call it liquid dynamite.
It was the factory's most dangerous
and unstable chemical.
It's kept buried under cement.
They have three 40-ton tanks.
Three tanks full of MIC.
They fear it, and rightfully so.
Why?
I used to transport the barrels
in my truck.
It'd be raining.
And the barrels weren't
even sealed properly at times.
If even a single drop of water
mixes with MIC,
it can wreak havoc.
It turns into poison gas
and spreads in the air.
One breath of it, and it's all over.
What do you mean? Didn't you wear masks?
They never gave us any.
You didn't ask?
Ask? I…
I asked, complained, made a ruckus.
And? Didn't they take action?
They did. They kicked me out.
Excuse me.
It's ready.
Hand it to him.
-How much?
-20 paise.
Who fired you?
And who runs the factory now?
One Mr. Madsen. A white man from America.
-Sir… Sir-ji…
-I'm done with this fucking place.
Dust, heat and bad news,
that's all I get here.
But safety is a problem, sir-ji.
The flare tower is out of order.
The MIC tanks have been
without refrigeration for two months.
The workers don't know
when or how to wash pipes.
What will happen
when something bad happens?
A single drop of water
and that chemical can react--
I don't need a fucking chemistry
lesson from you, Kamruddin.
But all our fail-safes are compromised.
You think I haven't told them?
Check these telexes out.
The only reply I get back is a "no."
Do you know why?
Annual reports.
Look at the balance sheets.
We're constantly in the red.
1980, '81, '82, '83, all red.
Indian farmers, damn them,
don't seem to want our pesticide.
The bosses know this.
Why would they sanction money
for a loss-making operation?
I have heard that too.
They're closing the factory, sir?
I never said that.
All I'm saying is I have a job to do,
and so do you.
I'll deal with management.
You convince the workers all is fine.
But, sir, I'm worried about--
I'm worried, too, Kamruddin!
About the fucking press!
This motherfucker has mentioned
details of the 1982 report!
The bloody C.S. Tyson report.
Someone's talking.
On the inside.
Now, I'm showing
a set of photographs to Mr. Riaz.
Imad, do you recognize them?
Yes.
They had visited the factory.
In 1982.
They checked the machines,
the safety measures.
They inspected the trucks too.
They were from America.
To be clear, this is C.S. Tyson
we are talking about.
He wrote a report
on the safety issues in Bhopal factory.
Imad, did anything change after his visit?
Did they improve safety measures?
Carbide didn't lift a finger.
Things went on like before.
And… And then…
And then there was a leak,
and an innocent worker lost his life.
Mohammed Ansari.
Yes.
He was like a brother to me.
I persuaded him to move to Bhopal.
I'm sorry, Imad.
I know this is difficult for you.
But can you recount
what happened that day?
The whole factory reeked
of the boiled cabbage-like smell of MIC.
They sent him in there.
Those assholes
wanted to save their factory.
So, they found a scapegoat.
He saved the factory,
but he couldn't save himself.
The gas filled his lungs.
And he was done for.
-Go!
-Get lost!
I already paid you! What more do you want?
Run!
Chickpeas! Roasted chickpeas!
Spicy roasted chickpeas!
-Good morning.
-Sir.
Good morning, sir.
SM sir, weren't you
on the night shift today?
-Good morning, Prasad.
-Good morning, sir.
Were the communication wires repaired?
-Yes, sir, the thieves--
-You checked them?
See, the thieves from the slum stole it.
They won't bother us now.
Seventy meters of copper wire
will last them a while.
I know the wires are copper.
-Have they been repaired?
-Repaired?
Sir, actually,
I sent the repair team last night.
And they must've replaced
at least 50 meters of the wiring by now.
Don't worry, sir. It'll be done.
-It will be done or it's done?
-It's done.
I mean…
-Sir, I just…
-It's done, right?
Arrange a push trolley.
We'll check the connection from there.
Pardon?
Fantastic cards.
-It's your turn, come on!
-Two jacks! Ha!
Mileage?
Mileage?
-We don't need you anymore. Go home.
-What do you mean?
-Our money?
-We want our money.
-Don't act tough.
-I'll show you how tough I am…
You'll rot in jail for hitting
a government employee, you fuckers!
I'll beat you till you eat dirt!
-Get back!
-Prasad.
-Get them paid.
-Okay, sir.
And arrange a new repair crew.
Three shifts of eight hours each,
working around the clock
until the comms are repaired.
Okay.
It's a safety issue, Prasad.
I got distracted, sir.
Keep my advice in mind, Prasad.
In our line of work,
we can't get distracted.
Because we don't get second chances.
Yes, sir.
We must get that report, Imad.
Without the Tyson report, our case
is weak. In fact, there's no case.
I know, Kumawat bhai.
I'll get the report one way or another.
Inshallah, it'll be done tonight.
Your mother is right.
You should stay away from this mess.
It's my job.
Kumawat bhai, he was my friend.
This is my home, my city.
If something goes wrong,
my people will die.
Okay.
You head for work now.
Your mother won't spare me
if you're late on your first day.
Let's go?
Sir.
-Assalam-alaikum, sir. My name's--
-Imad Riaz.
Good morning.
-Sir, here's my form.
-I have it.
Something at Bhopal Junction
isn't working properly right now.
Find out what that may be.
You have ten minutes.
Imad Riaz.
Yes. Yes, sir.
Yes, Vijaya.
-The cleaning is done, right?
-Yes, sir sahab.
I… I just came to remind you.
-About what?
-It's my daughter's wedding tonight.
I had invited you last month.
Oh, yes…
I'm sorry, I forgot about it.
-How's Sohini doing? All is well?
-Yes.
How is her preparation
for the civil services exams going?
It's going well.
I believe in her capabilities, sir sahab.
Her journey from there
to the civil services.
That's no small feat.
Sir sahab, I can't imagine
what forces parents
to abandon their children
at the railway station.
Well, I got lucky.
I found Sohini.
Congratulate her on my behalf.
-I'll try my best to come.
-Okay, sir sahab.
-Where's the stationmaster's office?
-There.
-Be careful, son!
-Sorry!
Sir!
Communications, sir.
The comms are down.
And who told you that?
No. I swear to God, sir, nobody did!
-There's a landline on your desk.
-So?
Why would the stationmaster
need a magneto telephone,
except to test out the comms?
Nishatpura Yard, tonight 10:30 p.m.
-Okay, sir.
-You'll report to the senior loco pilot.
A freight train needs
to be prepared for transport.
Okay, sir.
Imad Riaz.
Sir, there's something else
at Bhopal Junction
that isn't working right.
What?
-Time, sir.
-What?
Your clock is two minutes ahead.
Namaskar.
While traveling on
the Delhi-Bombay Rajdhani Express,
Minister Rajendra Patil was robbed.
The police are still hunting
for the perpetrator.
As per our sources,
the man behind this crime
is none other than the mastermind
who has remained elusive
for the last 13 years.
Involved in 27 cases of dacoity,
the infamous Express Bandit.
Boot polish!
Boot polish!
-Sir, buy us some food!
-Please!
Hey, stop!
Hey! Stop him! Get him!
-Hey, we're cops. Move!
-Cops? Then where's your uniform?
Mr. Accountant.
I've booked you
a one-way ticket to heaven, fucker.
Cops dressed as civilians
just tried to ambush me.
Buddy, if I go to jail,
I'll take your balls with me.
What did you expect?
That Railway Protection Force would
greet you with a 21-gun salute?
You robbed a minister.
Motherfucker.
You think RPF consults a lowly accountant
like me before conducting a raid?
Well, you do have a point.
Hold this.
Keep it there.
I'll have to go underground.
Railway headquarters
is a good place to disappear.
Don't act cheeky.
But you're right.
Let's do one last job. A big one.
Show me the accounts.
Let's see how much dough each station has.
Agra, Mathura, Morena, Dabra.
They're all broke, man.
Bhopal Junction.
So many zeroes, so…
That's more than 11 million rupees.
37 UP Punjab Mail,
from Firozpur to Bombay,
will depart from platform number 1
in five minutes.
It's done.
-Work hard, Imad. Okay?
-Yes.
-Salma khaala.
-Yes?
-Imad, there's a call for you.
-From Mr. Kamruddin?
No, not from him. It's a trunk call.
-I'll be right back, Ammi.
-Okay.
-Shazia bhabhi?
-Imad?
Yes, Bhabhi.
-All good?
-Yes. Yes, Bhabhi.
-Where are you?
-We're in Jhansi now.
Imad, it'll be late at night
when we get there.
Yes, I'll see you there.
Ammi is making mutton stew.
We'll have dinner together.
It took a while,
but we'll get the evidence tonight.
We'll get justice from Carbide.
For Ansari.
He thought of you as a younger brother.
You three are my responsibility now. Just…
Trust me. Just come here.
Thank you, Imad.
Khuda-haafiz.
Khuda-haafiz, Bhabhi.
Nafisa,
Mr. Kamruddin will be able
to do it, right?
Come with me.
Come in.
He left this gas mask for me.
And for our baby.
We've been blessed
after so many years of marriage.
He'll die before he lets anything happen.
Mr. Kamruddin,
the night shift workers are here.
I got the report, Kumawat.
The bastards have known everything
for the past two years.
And yet they did nothing.
-Let's meet soon then.
-Yes, come over.
-Where?
-Let's meet at my house.
In two hours.
Didn't your shift start at 9:00?
You'll make your supervisor wait for you?
But, sir, the pipe washing
is scheduled for next week.
Everyone is clueless here, it seems.
We're washing them today.
Okay, sir.
Are you gonna read the manual now?
Didn't you get the training?
Sir, my training was only two weeks long.
So? That's all the training I had too.
Six-month long trainings
are ancient history.
-Hurry up, turn on the water.
-Yes, sir.
The pressure is okay.
2 PSI.
Let's go. That should do it.
Let's go.
Sir sahab.
Sohini, look who's here.
How are you?
Your mother is worried about your studies.
Amma just doesn't realize
that the times have changed.
I told her I'll handle both
the house and my studies. But no--
-Sir sahab, you--
-Sir sahab.
That's what your mother calls me.
Imagine when you become an IAS officer
and I'll be calling you "sir sahab,"
your mother will be beaming with pride.
-What if my in-laws don't let me work?
-Send them to me.
Well, that will scare them.
You'll pack them off to Kanyakumari.
I'll send them without a ticket.
-Sir sahab.
-No, Vijaya.
Punjab Mail.
Okay, sir.
God bless you.
-Assalam-alaikum.
-Walaikum-assalam!
Hey, young buck!
Hey, tall guy!
Yes. Yes, sir.
Aren't you the new guy?
I heard you were the star during training.
Don't let that go to your head.
To hell with the training.
The real test is here, son. Here.
We'll know if you have the balls for it.
Come on, prime the locomotive.
Show us what you've learned.
Engine?
Come on! Hey!
They keep sending these novices,
and we have to make up for it…
Hey, boy! Come out.
Come out.
Look around.
This is a repair shed.
Defunct engines and coaches
come here for repairs.
This one was sent to us to fix as well.
It's a tough nut to crack.
Move. Let me show you.
Let's start it.
Fasten your seat belt, boy.
It's your first night.
You'll never forget it.
-Abdul, get some chai, boy!
-Okay, sir. Right away.
So, what was the complaint?
Workers say there's water dripping
and their eyes are burning.
Go up there and check.
Fuck, looks like the disc ruptured.
And so has the valve.
Should we inform the control room?
Let's have some chai first.
This happens all the time.
Sir…
Keep this box
in the stationmaster's office.
And check if watering is
in progress or not.
-Check properly.
-Okay, sir.
SM sir, the train is on time.
No public complaints,
no alarms, chain pulling…
I got the watering started.
Thank you, Prasad.
Passengers of platform one,
please pay attention.
The train from Firozpur to Bombay,
37 UP Punjab Mail
will depart from platform number 1
in five minutes.
Easy.
Thank you.
Move on. Move.
-Let's go to the waiting room.
-Poori-sabzi!
Come over for some poori-sabzi.
Hot meals for you!
Hey, put it down.
Do you have the paperwork for it?
-Good evening, sir.
-Good evening.
Who's the authority here?
You better stop yapping
before you get punched in the mouth.
Who's the authority here?
Who's the supervisor?
I'm the stationmaster. Tell me.
-This trunk…
-Is being taken with my permission.
Now you tell me,
who gave you the authority to stop them?
I have some hot news,
but keep it to yourself.
He's coming.
Who's coming?
-Mastermind.
-Mastermind who?
The one who's giving sleepless nights
to the RPF.
Sir, I haven't been home for weeks.
I haven't had the time
for a shave or haircut.
They call him the Express Bandit.
Two days back in Agra, he gouged out
a cop's eye and escaped.
But we nabbed one of his buddies.
After a few punches, he spilled the beans.
We found out that--
We found out
that he's coming to Bhopal tonight
to clean out your safe.
Have you seen him?
Can you recognize him?
Well, he gouged out my friend's eye,
but my eyes are absolutely fine.
What I mean to say is,
I'd like to request that you let me
keep an eye on your safe tonight.
It's a golden chance to nab him.
If I lose him this time,
it'll be a disgrace to my uniform.
The next train is Gorakhpur Express.
Your bandit might be on that.
Well, the bandit might already be here.
Take this trunk in.
Constable, I'll call you
after taking care of the formalities.
Have some chai until then.
The chai is great here.
Don't you like chai?
Is it over there? I'll have it over there.
Boy, if you ask,
you'll live a life asking.
-Learn to snatch.
-Markhand, give it back!
-Sorry… Sorry, sir.
-Markhand.
-And what's your name?
-Ratlu.
Ratlu.
Keep it.
Sing.
Go on. Please inform Mr. Sinha.
Okay, sir.
Constable.
Yes, sir.
We've requested Mr. Sinha to come over.
Mr. Sinha?
-RPF Chief of Bhopal.
-Oh, yes.
-I was…
-We need to take his permission.
Until then, please wait in my office.
You can tell him
all about the Express Bandit.
-Shut the door please.
-Okay.
-Mileage. Mileage.
-Hello, yes, Mileage.
Hello, Bhopal Junction control?
Yes, go on. All good?
Are the repairs done?
The lines have been replaced.
We've made temporary connections
for testing.
Before we make the final connections,
we'll have to disconnect
the voice, control, Morse, block lines.
I've informed the surrounding stations.
And, listen, fix the block first, okay?
Okay, sir.
Make it fast, okay? Okay.
-Abdul!
-Yes, sir?
Cut these lines.
Hey.
Inform SM sir that the comms
will be offline for some time.
And tell him that I'm heading home.
-Okay?
-Okay, sir.
-And stay alert, mister. Okay?
-Okay.
Come on, Satinder, let's go.
-I've cut it, sir!
-Okay, all right.
-What was it, sir? There was a smell.
-It was just a small leak.
Start looking for another job.
This factory won't last long.
They're leaving.
And where will they go from here?
Brazil, China,
wherever they can get better profits.
I used to work
in the battery factory in Calcutta.
-Everyone knows about it there.
-Ahsan!
-That's why they aren't doing the upkeep.
-Ahsan?
Ahsan!
Ahsan? Ahsan, come in.
What's going on with the MIC 610?
Ahsan?
Mr. Kamruddin! Wait!
-What happened?
-It's for you.
Come in, Mr. Kamruddin.
Yes, Mr. Das, go ahead.
O Allah! Mr. Das, I am coming!
What does the panel say?
Sir, temperature is 100 degrees
and pressure 55.
The… The needle can't go higher than this.
Tank 610 has 40 tons of MIC.
Where's Ahsan?
Ahsan! Ahsan, MIC… Hurry. Control room!
MIC?
-Come on, let's go!
-Get out of here!
-Hurry!
-Oh, God!
-Come on, let's go!
-Go, go!
-Why didn't you turn on the scrubber?
-It's not working, Ahsan.
The flare tower's working.
Burn off the gas.
The flare tower's been down for months!
The pipes rusted away! Don't you know?
No one tells us anything.
How did this happen?
Sir, I…
We were washing the pipes.
-Washing?
-Yes.
Since when?
Since 9:00 or 9:30, sir.
The water's been running for three hours?
Didn't you turn off the water, Ahsan?
But you fixed the slip blinds, right?
-Slip blinds?
-Metal disc!
They go on both sides of the pipes
while washing them,
so the water doesn't reach
the MIC tank. Did you fix them?
No one taught us to do that, sir.
We must turn off the water.
Or the chemical will boil
and turn into a toxic gas.
-Mr. Das.
-Sir?
-Evacuate the factory.
-Yes, sir.
Now.
Right now.
-Head to the office with Kishore.
-Okay, sir.
Ahsan.
-Come on. Hurry up.
-Yes.
Come with me.
We must evacuate the factory!
We must turn off the water!
Evacuate the factory!
Hey!
Ahsan, help him!
Mr. Kamruddin, the masks are over there!
Ahsan, there are no masks.
Use a wet handkerchief.
Run away from the wind!
The other way! Go that way!
Away from the gas.
Kamruddin, help!
Ahsan, hurry up.
The water is still running.
Let's get out of here, sir.
The water is off.
But the gas is still leaking.
The pressure is still building
in tank 610.
The gas from 610 has to be diverted
into an empty tank.
You leave!
Mr. Kamruddin!
I am at the gate! Please come out!
There are no empty tanks.
Mr. Das, leave.
I can stop the chain reaction
by disconnecting 611.
It has 20 tons of MIC in it.
If this leaks, the entire city is dead.
Mr. Kamruddin!
We've been blessed
after so many years of marriage.
He'll die before he lets anything happen.
Subtitle translation by:
Sheela Sijin Mathews