The Railway Men (2023) s01e03 Episode Script

Welcome back, folks. Next up for you,
we have a track from the band Mic Men.
This track has been requested
by Johnny from Park Creek.
So sit back, relax and enjoy!
Fuck.
Professor, you have to see this!
It's hydrogen cyanide, Professor.
In particularly lethal concentrations.
And that's just what we tested for.
Just look at the plant.
We'll put it in our report for Carbide.
For protective measures.
-We'll warn them.
-Warn them?
-We have to warn the world about this.
-Braun, they paid for the tests.
They own the results.
Professor, this could kill people
within a matter of hours, if not minutes.
This is dangerous.
They're planning to use MIC
in their new Sevin plant in Bhopal, India.
Relax, Braun. This isn't chemical warfare.
Even if Carbide tries to cut corners,
you think the Indian Government will
compromise the safety of their people?
-I don't think so.
-But what if they do?
They'll surely mandate that the factory
be placed away from populated areas.
That's standard operating procedure.
You don't know, do you?
Three tanks,
right in the middle of the city.
Braun, keep quiet.
You can't fight these people.
We'll do the rest tomorrow, Lata.
-Go to bed now.
-Okay, ma'am.
Hello, Rajeshwari Janglay here.
This is Rati Pandey, ma'am.
Yes, Rati-ji, tell me, what's the matter?
It's about the Railways, ma'am.
I wouldn't have called otherwise.
Look, if it's about your job,
let me be very clear,
I may be a Director General,
but I'm not above the minister.
I can't do anything. I'm sorry.
Ma'am, I'll serve my notice period
and get out of here.
The department can then operate
without my interference.
This is not the time.
I don't want to talk about it.
There's been an incident.
A big one.
At Bhopal Junction.
-What happened? Collision? Derailment?
-No.
A gas leak
at the chemical factory in Old Bhopal.
We haven't been able to contact
Bhopal Junction in two hours.
That would mean that the staff
is not in a state to operate the station.
At the moment Bhopal Junction
has disappeared from the railway map.
And a thousand on the Gorakhpur Express
are heading towards their death.
Oh, my God!
And, ma'am, my extramarital affair
with the Railway Board
and Ministry is over.
No one will take my call.
-Where are you?
-At Itarsi Junction.
Ma'am, please contact the Ministry.
Manpower, medical supplies,
we need all the help we can get.
We really need
to resume operations immediately.
I can coordinate from here.
Let me talk to them, Rati. Stand by.
Thank you.
Don't do anything until then.
Yeah.
This is Rajeshwari Janglay, DG Personnel.
Connect me to the Minister.
Your kind attention please.
-Ashok-ji.
-Sir?
Alert the Railways hospital.
Get their entire supply
of atropine and Visine here.
Okay, sir.
-Constable sahab.
-Yes, sir?
Oxygen cylinders and oxygen masks,
if they are not in use, bring them here.
-Yes, sir.
-And, Uncle-ji.
Every employee in Itarsi,
especially doctors,
must be at the platform in half an hour.
On duty, off duty, everyone.
Wake them up if they are sleeping.
Get them here when they are up.
Shall we? Let's go, come on.
Come on.
-Benedict.
-Sir?
Can you contact my loco pilot
on the wireless?
Sure, sir.
Ask him to bring me my GM Special.
Copy, sir.
It's on the outskirts of Bhaironpur.
I'm sure you didn't check there.
You aren't a Sikh, motherfucker!
Why are you sacrificing
your life for no reason?
Brother, can't we call
the police for help?
Ma'am, we don't have a wireless.
We'll have to deboard
and connect the wired telephone.
They're gonna die for sure, Guard!
Save your own life!
Open the door, old man!
Scumbags, you better save yourselves!
Grandpa, catch a breath first!
This train is about to reach
Bhopal Station.
The Railway Protection Force will be
waiting there to welcome you, bastards!
-Brother, these fuckers won't listen.
-Then break the door.
Harder!
Why so shy, doll?
Step aside, ma'am!
It's a fuckin' boy.
Ma'am, hold on to something.
It's okay. Don't worry.
You two get out this way. Go on. Leave.
Come on, hurry up. Quick.
Take that, you fucking goon!
Come on, hurry up. Let's get out of here.
Did someone pull the chain?
Mileage. Mileage!
The lines don't seem to be working.
Our luck is rotten!
-Look around. Shout if you see them.
-Okay, Shandilya bhaiya.
Who died?
What? Hey, hey… Guard sahab, who are they?
They are Sikhs.
There were rioters on the train,
so I had to stop it.
God saved us, and so did you.
What can we do by ourselves?
Should we call for help?
The comms aren't working.
I couldn't contact Bhopal.
Okay, but we can get there.
Should I start the train?
No. We have to get rid
of those assholes first.
We have to get them away from the train.
How?
Leave that to me.
You start the train
as soon as you see the flare.
Ma'am, have faith in me.
Son, take care of your mother.
Brother,
may God keep you safe.
You know,
I was also born at a railway station.
Alone.
But I wasn't as lucky as you.
I didn't have
a brother like Markhand with me.
Orphans like us
have to find our own purpose in life.
You may not understand this right now,
but if we escape this place today,
you will.
Come.
Now, let him sleep.
Let him sleep.
Give him a blanket.
Cover him.
We've run out of water.
There's not a drop left.
They won't survive for long.
What do we do, sir?
Gorakhpur hasn't arrived either.
Trains are never this late.
They might have stopped it.
You need to help us-- I mean, them.
Let's keep them inside.
As long as they are in here, they're safe.
Sir, being in here
doesn't mean we are safe.
MIC is slowly killing us.
We must get them out soon.
Let's get out of here in small groups.
We have an engine.
The problem is there's only one engine.
Who do we take first?
How many times will we go to and fro?
Well, no offense to you guys,
but despite being a big railway station,
there are no spare trains here.
Had this been Delhi, in Nizamuddin outer,
there are trains by the dozen…
-A freight train needs to be prepared.
-Okay, sir.
Nishatpura Yard. You went there
to prepare a freight train, right?
-Yes, sir.
-Imad, we need a train.
If we can't get one,
why don't we build one?
How, sir? We don't have passenger coaches.
We just need wagons, Imad.
The freight wagon is right there.
And the engine is right here.
Yes, I will go, sir.
-To build a train?
-Yes. Brother, close the door behind me.
Isn't that the engine driver?
-Constable…
-Sure. I'll go with him, sir.
-I am not scared at all. I'll go--
-Constable, you…
You're not going anywhere.
Hold the fort here.
Don't let anyone leave.
Keep this walkie-talkie.
I'll inform you when the job is done.
-Be ready. Close the door.
-Okay. Sure.
C'mon, get away from the door.
Move. They've gone
to take care of something urgent.
Come here.
Look, I have to take care
of something urgent too.
You're in charge here. Okay?
Take care of everyone. Close the door.
Why am I in charge?
Constable, what's so urgent?
Where are you going?
Listen--
The gas is toxic,
and as of now
there is no specific treatment for this.
DG sir,
health is your department.
Please give us an update.
I had a word with AIIMS.
And with the local hospital in Bhopal.
No one knows the treatment for this.
They only know that it's fatal.
-We'll know more after the first autopsy.
-Right.
But we do know
that people are dying over there.
So, we must send our people to help them--
Then we'll have to send more people
to save the people we sent.
And more, and some more.
You probably didn't hear me.
The air is toxic.
It's not a flood or an earthquake.
We can't go there and rescue them.
I heard you loud and clear. The difference
between you and me, is our thinking.
-Look, ma'am--
-Sir,
we may not be able to treat them,
but we can surely evacuate them.
And that's what Railways does,
takes people from one place to another.
Take them safely, Rajeshwari.
No trains should go towards Bhopal.
Freight, passenger, none.
But, sir, Bhopal is at the center
of the railway network.
We'll have to reroute umpteen trains.
-So do it.
-Sir!
So, we won't send them any help at all?
Rajeshwari, you said it yourself.
Gorakhpur Express went towards Bhopal,
but there's no sign of it now.
It has about 1,000 passengers, right?
And you still want
to send more of our people there?
-Sir--
-No chance, Rajeshwari.
Sir, please think about it again.
Sir, they really need help--
Come on, send out the orders, and inform
the operators in the control room.
Rati, the Minister didn't agree.
Ma'am, then we should prepare
to pick up dead bodies.
Anyway, I'm sure you tried your best.
I did, Rati.
Your efforts are usually quite scary.
The last time you made an effort,
I lost my job.
I've said it a hundred times,
they were the Minister's orders.
My hands were tied.
No one can sign with tied hands, ma'am.
And the letter had your signature.
Anyway, you'll never admit it
and I'll never forget it.
Anyway,
It seems Bhopal Junction has
run out of luck today.
We still have a chance, Rati.
For what?
All the trains are being diverted.
It's a huge operation.
It'll take time.
What are you trying to say?
Before the orders reach Misrod,
if you can cross it…
Misrod?
-The last station south of Bhopal?
-Yes.
Am I really talking to Rajeshwari Janglay?
No, you're talking to the DG Personnel.
Now hurry up.
-Manik.
-Sir.
Ashok-ji, how many
family members do you have?
Sir, my grandmother passed away last week.
So we're only six now.
But my wife is pregnant.
So we'll be seven again next week.
Attaboy!
Congratulations! That's fantastic, buddy.
And, you in the yellow shirt,
how many do you have in your family?
Sir, 11. More than Ashok-ji's family.
He's started a competition!
Can anyone top him?
-Sir, 12!
-Twelve!
-Thirteen!
-Thirteen--
An entire cricket team at home!
Vinod-ji, your hand is up. Tell me.
Sir, 32.
Thirty-two!
He's the one who created Itarsi's army!
That's why he's always in a bad mood.
Sir, how many do you have in your family?
1,572,211.
That was the number before the night shift
started at Bhopal Junction.
Bhopal Junction is
in the clutches of a dangerous gas.
We don't know how to stop it.
We don't know how to protect ourselves.
All we know is
that our people
at Bhopal Junction have died
trying to fight it.
And the ones who've survived
are fools.
Because they think help will come.
But no help is coming to them.
Railways is closing
all the routes leading to them.
They are leaving them to their plight.
If I could talk to the survivors,
I would have told them
that they are all fools.
I came here today
to inspect your railway station.
To see if everything
is working fine in Itarsi.
Years ago, a senior told me
that a station is not run by its machines,
but by its people.
So, I didn't come here today
to check engines, control panels,
signal or tracks.
I came here
to see the soul of Itarsi's staff.
Well, I'm also a bit of a fool.
I won't be able to abandon Bhopal.
And I know I won't be able
to do much by myself, but I'm still going.
The thing is,
only a fool would try
to help others at such a time.
Or one of their own.
-Master.
-Yes, sir?
I won't be able to fit so many.
-Benedict.
-Sir.
You have to keep the tracks clear for us.
The tracks from here to Bhopal
must remain clear.
On an emergency basis.
Sir, the tracks will be clear till Misrod.
I can guarantee that.
But sir, I can't guarantee when or where
the Gorakhpur Express might appear.
I know that. That's why
there's something else you need to do.
Benedict, call Bhopal's
police control room
and ask them
to send a constable to the station.
Inform them help is on its way.
Ask them to keep the up line clear.
We'll arrive on platform 1.
-Right, sir.
-Thank you.
-Master, shall we?
-Yes, sir.
I want all three.
We searched the whole train, brother.
-What was that?
-Look over there, brother!
-Where is he?
-He was right there.
There's that motherfucking guard!
Fuck you!
-He seems to have a gun, brother.
-If you're so scared, stick together.
Guard, motherfucker!
Someone's over there. Come!
Come on, hurry up!
-It wasn't a gun.
-It looks like a firecracker, brother.
Those were railway detonators.
He fooled us.
There's the flare.
Did he get on the train?
There he is!
Motherfucker!
Kill him!
Brother, the train is leaving!
We are in a chemically insulated office,
but the city isn't.
Please, Mr. Madsen,
let's warn the local administration.
I'm not calling anyone.
I'm not opening the gates to anyone.
Not until we call HQ in America.
But that's red tape.
Which is exactly what used
to annoy you about this country.
And now, you are hiding behind it?
Look, you and I both know
what this gas is capable of, Mr. Madsen.
-Hello.
-Am I speaking to Mr. Madsen?
General Manager of Union Carbide's
Bhopal factory?
Yes, you are.
This is the District Magistrate speaking.
I have been told that there is
some sort of a leak at your factory?
Yes, that's correct.
What exactly does this gas do?
There might be some sensitivity
in the eyes.
Nothing saline eye drops won't fix.
What are you saying? It is dangerous.
The gas will dissipate by itself
soon enough.
People are dead on the street, Mr. Madsen.
So stop stalling.
What does it do?
It's not lethal, sir.
That's the company line.
Well, Mr. Madsen, I'll need to tackle
this crisis first, but be assured,
we will deal with you eventually.
Of course, Magistrate.
As always, Carbide extends its
full cooperation with your authorities.
You just lied to them.
There's no antidote.
What's the use
of creating unnecessary panic?
But the toxicology studies
conducted by Carbide in '63 and '70.
There might be some antidote.
Let the management deal with that.
Let me clear up this mess.
Mr. Kamruddin!
Nafisa-ji!
I got the report, Kumawat.
Let's meet at my house.
This is my home. My people will die.
Khaala!
Yes, Mr. Das!
Open the gates!
Why don't you open it?
Nafisa-ji!
-Nafisa-ji!
-Open it.
Nafisa-ji!
-You should take care of yourself.
-Open it!
Nafisa-ji, come with me.
-No!
-This place is not safe for you.
-There's poison everywhere. Come with me!
-No…
That's it. I'm taking you to the hospital.
-Nafisa-ji, let's go.
-No.
Nafisa-ji, your baby.
Think of your baby.
That's the most important thing right now.
-Right?
-Yes.
I'll be right back.
Just hold on for a moment.
Just hold on. I'll be right there.
Come, come with me!
You shouldn't have come here.
Be careful.
Sit. Yes.
Nafisa-ji, my eyes are burning.
-Keep talking to me.
-Okay.
-Please keep talking.
-Okay.
-Straight.
-Keep telling me the way as well.
-Cheers!
-Cheers!
To our guest, Alex Braun.
Cheers!
I hope Germany continues to need
cheap Indian medicines.
Hope so.
Very well said, Mr. Poddar.
How long do we need to put up with them?
Anything for money, Mr. Poddar.
Excuse me, sir. There is a call
for you from the German Embassy.
-Okay. Excuse me.
-Sure.
German Embassy. Did you hear that?
Alex, it's for you.
Hello, who's this?
What do you mean
you can't tell me your name?
I am sorry, did I hear that correctly?
Did you say "MIC"?
Yes, there is an antidote.
Sir, don't worry.
I'll let them know. I…
All right, I won't mention this call.
SM sir!
SM, sir! Are you okay?
Who the hell are you?
What are you doing near the safe?
Where is SM sir?
Look, your stationmaster has
already taken off.
It's now time to sort you out.
I'll get the keys for the freight train.
-Keep the engine ready, Imad.
-Yes, sir.
Mr. Secretary, I was wondering
if I can have a word.
Ms. Janglay,
we're in the midst of a crisis.
-Not the right time to talk, please.
-It's about that crisis, sir.
I think the Railways can help in Bhopal.
We can activate Railways' relief network.
With your permission, we'll send them in.
My permission? What do you mean?
What about your ministry?
The Minister is slightly hesitant.
If the PMO sends a formal request,
he will agree.
Ms. Janglay, there's something
called a chain of command.
Please excuse me.
Mr. Secretary,
may I have a moment of your time?
It's about the situation in Bhopal.
Apologies, Mr. Ambassador,
this is an internal matter.
But, sir. We have the antidote.
Wait one moment, Herr Braun.
Let me see if I can try again.
Excuse me.
May I know what this is about?
My name is Alex Braun.
I am a toxicologist.
And I've received word
that there was a gas leak in Bhopal.
And I worked on the initial studies
of the gas in question.
And you just happen to be in India?
Look, call it a twist of fate
or serendipity or just plain good luck.
Because it's the only good luck
you are going to get tonight.
Because I know the antidote for MIC.
-An antidote?
-Yes.
There is an antidote?
Yes. It's called sodium thiosulfate.
When it is administered early,
the survival rates
multiply many, many times.
It's simple, it's effective.
I saw you talking
to the Principal Secretary. I--
Just a minute.
So where do we get this from?
Is it available somewhere?
Yes! I know people in the city.
Pharmaceutical company owners,
bulk medicine shippers.
They are already preparing
vials of sodium thiosulfate
to send to Bhopal.
Ma'am, please,
these people don't have lot of time.
We have to get it to them
in the fastest way possible.
Dr. Drolia.
Thank you.
-What medicine are you using?
-Medicine?
People performing CPR are fainting.
And the nurses with years of experience
can't even find a pulse.
People who have been declared dead
are coming back to life.
You're asking about medicine,
we don't even know the damn illness.
Nurse.
I came with a pregnant lady.
Have you seen her?
I was looking for you. She's in surgery.
The surgeon wants her antenatal report.
Do you have it?
No. Is everything okay?
No. Do you know
the month of her pregnancy?
Sixth or seventh.
Medical reports, records,
ultrasound, anything?
-Do you have her reports?
-I'm not her husband, but let me check.
Tyson report?
You did it, Mr. Kamruddin.
Abbu, put on your shoes.
I'll take you to the hospital.
Adil, my son, let's wait.
Please don't argue.
We've waited long enough.
Bhaisaab, going out is suicide.
The stationmaster will be here soon--
The stationmaster took off!
Everyone fooled us and took off!
No one is coming for us!
Adil, let's wait.
Look at your father. He'll die outside.
Don't be hasty. Let him stay.
If I let him stay, he'll die anyway.
No one's coming to rescue him.
Forget the hospital,
you won't make it out of the station.
-Your stupidity will cost him his life!
-Mind your own business!
-Come to your senses!
-You motherf--
Adil!
Constable, where are you?
Constable! Come in, constable!
How did this window break?
I told you to take care of things!
Constable!
What's this?
If you utter a word to the stationmaster,
I won't hesitate to use this.
Fuck off! I'm not scared of you.
But the station needs you tonight.
-Prasad?
-Yes, SM sir!
-Open the wagon, Prasad!
-Yes, sir.
Come on! Quick!
Everyone in the wagon! Quick!
I'll take him.
Hurry up, get in!
Go on! Go, go, go!
Go on! Don't worry.
-Keep moving.
-Are you ready, girls?
Himani, take a deep breath.
Girls, it's just another race. Go.
Come on, go.
Kid, come on, we gotta go.
Hurry up. Come on.
-No, sir. No.
-Listen to me.
I told you we have to find
the purpose of our life ourselves.
Right? Come on, kid.
There's no time.
Come on. Come.
Come on, pull your leg out.
Come on. Let's go.
Go inside.
Prasad! Get the Petromax!
-Petromax!
-Where's Himani?
-Himani!
-Himani!
Himani!
Himani!
In our team, even the swimmers can't swim.
"Help me, I can't breathe."
Take a deep breath.
Girls, it's just another race.
Amma!
On your mark, get set…
She won't be able to do it alone.
-Let's go!
-Hey, wait!
Sir, Petromax.
Let's go.
Let's go. Are you waiting
for the stars to align?
Let's go, Imad.
Sir, Indian Railways' speed record is
going to break today.
Guard sahab, what happened?
Tell…
Tell that mother and son
everything will be fine.
Okay.
We'll reach Bhopal soon.
Everything will be all right.
What happened?
It's not working, sir. It's not starting.
Sir…
Sir, the throttle isn't working.
The engine was still being tested.
-Oh, God, what's going on?
-What's this new mess?
-It just came in from the repair shed.
-Buddy, what are you-- Start it.
Give it a try.
We're stuck.
Subtitle translation by:
Sheela Sijin Mathews