Before you board Trial By Fire (or even if you decide not too), go online and attempt to read a little about this bizarre incident that is currently in court. The most recent hearing was held on January 11, 2023. The Uphaar cinema experienced a technical issue in the morning, but they ruined it by making insignificant adjustments. With no safety precautions, cardboard in place of exhaust vents, and doors to balcony seats sealed to serve the VIP guest, the malfunction resulted in a large fire in a movie theatre packed with more people than it could hold. The Ansal brothers, who owned the property, were sentenced to a 7-year prison term in 2021, which was later reduced to 6 months after 25 years in court.
Because the writer chooses to enter several houses that have lost their members as well as the homes of the perpetrators, the show’s tone is as gloomy as it gets. Seven members of a man’s family, including his 6-month-old granddaughter, pass away. Now, he lacks the funds to cremate them. The community comes together to support him. Similarly, the electrician who made the temporary repairs that morning is also highlighted in the episode. Since they are both just players for the powerful men who profit from their existence, it deftly illustrates both sides.
The seven-part Netflix series, based on the 2016 novel Trial by Fire by Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy, whose children, Ujjwal and Unnati, died in the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire, plunges its protagonists into the bottomless pit of parental loss after a brief idyllic stretch. A significant shock thus early in a lengthy story feels like a cruel condition upending the conventions of storytelling: the initial event feels like a climax; the core tension is never left unresolved; and the story, much like the real-life examples it was based on, loops around.
However, Deshpande and Deol’s portrayal of the distressed parents who fought and struggled for justice for more than 20 years against significant difficulties makes Trial by Fire successful. The couple’s unimaginable suffering, how people responded to them, and their emotional attempts to move on from the catastrophe, find closure, accept the new normal, and realise they cannot escape it are the main themes of the first few episodes.
Trial by Fire’s storytelling is assured and unflinching, economical and restrained. The main actors, Deshpande and Deol, portray “static” roles. Therefore a lot depends on them. They’re both excellent, but Deshpande seems to be batting on another pitch. Not only does she stare blankly, like a scary ghost, but she also moves, sits, and responds, appearing raw, alive, and vulnerable. This results in a searing mixture of loss, melancholy, and protest.
There are parts of the story where you feel hopeful and hopeless because the couple struggles against the system, which occasionally provides a thread to grasp onto but ultimately saps their power and soul. However, Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy continually got back up, which is a big part of why we’re talking about this essential tragedy that rocked the country.