Review: Trial By Fire

Juxtaposed between the crossroads of personal tragedy and systemic negligence, Trial By Fire is a poignant series on the case of the Uphaar cinema fire in New Delhi.

Juxtaposed between the crossroads of personal tragedy and systemic negligence, Trial By Fire is a poignant series on the case of the Uphaar cinema fire in New Delhi. Brought out by the point of view of the lead warriors of the court battle, Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy, who lost their children on the fateful day, the show fights for justice of those children and people who died in the cinema which caught fire in June 1997.

The show, created by Prashant Nair and Randeep Jha, details the real-life tragedy that turns into a fight of people versus the system. The writing of the show, along with the production design and costumes is captured with remarkable authenticity, which uncharacteristically allows its viewers to stay focused on the lives ravaged by the tragedy.

Unlike other tragedies like Chernobyl, what stands out in Trial by Fire is its focus on the people and their fight. It puts faces to the names of those affected and involved in the incident. We see the events unfold through the perspective of Neelam (Rajshri Deshpande) and Shekhar (Abhay Deol), who decide that they want to file a police complaint against the culprits- the Ansal Brothers, the owners of Uphaar and almost half of the infrastructure in the Delhi of the late-Nineties. The show also brings out the tragedy with piercingly raw and intimate archival footage.

The show documents the social, legal, and emotional battle of those affected against the injustice. The justice angle of the show is explored through immense labour and courage. It questions the cost of hope in a system that manipulates and tampers the truth to disregard the unnamed. In a man-made tragedy of such scale, it questions wether resilience is the only key to resolution. Paired with the stunning cinematography by Soumyananda Sahi and editing by Daniel Hajlang, Trial by Fire is blisteringly powerful.

You can watch Trial By Fire on Netflix.