The Railway Men review: Is the new Netflix miniseries worth watching?

The Railway Men premiered on Netflix on Saturday, November 18 and it has become the talk of the town in no time. The miniseries is based on the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy and serves as a tribute to the brave railway employees who saved many lives following the disaster.

The Railway Men is directed by Shiv Rawail and features an ensemble cast headlined by Kay Kay Menon and R Madhavan. It is produced by Yash Raj Films under YRF Entertainment, its digital wing, and marks the banner’s digital debut.

The historical drama had the potential to be a riveting and emotionally moving tale about one of the darkest chapters in India's history. However, it does not reach its potential as the execution fails to do justice to an inherently hard-hitting storyline.

The Railway Men review: The execution needed to be better

The Railway Men begins with a disclaimer stating that it is a ‘work of fiction, inspired by real events’ and not a factual account of the incidents that took place during the Bhopal gas tragedy.

The focus soon turns to Station Master Iftekaar Siddiqui (Menon) as he gears up for his shift. The sequence involving him and his son tries to establish the former as a man of principles. However, the scene makes a limited impact as it is a bit too short.

The makers then adopted the tried and tested ‘show don’t tell’ approach of storytelling to highlight that the Union Carbide factory did not have adequate safety measures for workers and the same was ignored by the management. The opening episode ends with a tragic death and this sets the stage for what is to follow.

A still from The Railway Men. (Image via Netflix)

However, The Railway Men falters after this promising start as the screenplay spreads itself too thin.

The track involving Imad Riaz (Babil Khan) and his fight against Union Carbide had the potential to be the show’s emotional fulcrum but that never happens as it isn’t fleshed out properly.

The Railway Men is available on Netflix. (Image via Netflix)

The same applies to subplots such as dacoit Balwant Yadav’s (Divyendu) dilemma and journalist Jagmohan Kumawat’s (Sunny Hinduja) fight for the truth. As a result, most characters come across as one-dimensional caricatures and this makes it difficult for viewers to relate with them.

The sequences depicting the heartbreaking consequences of the Bhopal gas tragedy work to a certain extent as they are presented as realistically as possible and without any sensationalization. However, they would have made an even stronger impact had the screenplay been tighter.

Coming to the performances, Kay Kay Menon is the heart and soul of The Railway Men. He rises above the middling script and manages to convey the trauma experienced by his character.

R Madhavan is underutilized and burdened with a generic character that doesn’t do justice to his abilities as a performer. The makers try to add depth to his character through the track involving Juhi Chawla, who plays a senior bureaucrat, but this attempt falls flat as their backstory isn’t explored properly.

Babil Khan made his presence felt in Qala despite not really being the ‘star’ of his debut film. Here too he manages to shine in a few sequences and holds his own against seasoned performers.

Divyendu and Sunny Hinduja deliver watchable performances in roles that don't push them to step out of their respective comfort zones.

The Pyaar Ka Punchnama actor’s performance in The Railway Men isn’t too different from his work in Mirzapur. Similarly, Hinduja’s character in this series has shades of Sandeep Ohlan from Aspirants.

The supporting cast, which includes names such as Juhi Chawla and Manish Wadhwa, serves its purpose reasonably well.

To sum up, this is a sincere attempt at storytelling that works in parts but not on the whole mainly because of the unimpressive world-building.

All four episodes of The Railway Men were released on Netflix on November 18.