Trial by Fire

Trial by Fire (2023, India, 7 episode Series)

Trial by Fire (Netflix) is a gut-wrenching depiction of a real-life harrowing tragedy that could been completely avoided. A series of small negligent and dangerous practices by the Uphaar cinema owners and management led to a fire that caused the death of 59 people and injury to hundreds of others. As the series shows, the age group of the almost 900 people that attended that fatal film screening on June 13, 1997 ranged from a newborn baby to young children, teenagers, adults and seniors. All these people were taking part in the cinema viewing ritual that is commonplace in India, more so than in many other nations. Yet, as the series shows, the cinema was a caged trap that could have caused a tragedy on any given day.

The series also highlights the cost of justice that people have to go through, putting their whole life on hold to fight a system that favours the rich. This sadly is not only true of India but the rest of the world as well, including North America. Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy spent almost 25 years fighting a system that never delivered the justice they sought. The series is brilliantly acted, scripted and features an array of smart  technical flourishes that humanizes victims and some of whom inadvertently played a part in the fire.

On a personal note, I am familiar with Uphaar cinema as I used to attend this cinema growing up. I have a few memories of my grandfather taking me to see films here. I knew of the fire but didn’t know the full story until now.