AN INTRICATE STUDY OF MELANCHOLY

NETFLIX’S Trial By Fire is not about the 1997 Uphaar Cinema tragedy. At least, not in the manner most “based on a true story” shows are.

- KARTIK BHARDWAJ

It doesn’t take the flag-bearing, placard-wielding, fighting for justice narrative approach. Trial By Fire invests all its energies in telling a tale of human drama, of mistakes, of regrets, of gloom and disappointments. And, it does so, in a way that these stories linger, long after you have finished the series, like a whiff of smoke.

For the unversed (looking at you ’90s kids), on Friday the 13th, in June, 1997, a fire broke out at the Uphaar Cinema in New Delhi’s Green Park area. It was the day JP Dutta’s (known for making patriotic action war films) magnum opus Border was released. The nationalist frenzy, even then, ensured that the show was a houseful. The fire began in a transformer, in the basement parking lot, and soon started blasting the cars parked there. The smoke travelled up the staircase and entered the cinema hall via AC ducts. 59 people died of asphyxiation and 103 others were grievously injured in a stampede that ensued after. The public announcement system was not working, the exit signs were not in place, more seats had been added to the theatre, above the mandate. They couldn’t escape because the gates were locked from outside, to ensure nobody without a ticket enters the hall.