The Railway Men: Son of real-life hero upset with makers
- By Web Desk -
- Nov 28, 2023
Shadab Dastagir, son of the real-life unsung hero Ghulam Dastagir, is upset with the makers of the Netflix series ‘The Railway Men’, about the 1984 Bhopal disaster.
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In the making since 2021, the four-part mini-series, inspired by the real-life events of the railway workers, who saved thousands of lives during the 1984 gas leak tragedy in Bhopal, and produced by YRF entertainment, ‘The Railway Men’ premiered on the streaming giant Netflix earlier this month.
Acclaimed actor Kay Kay Menon portrays Iftekaar Siddiqui, the character inspired by the unsung hero of the accident, Ghulam Dastagir, the deputy station superintendent of the Bhopal Junction railway station in 1984 when Methyl Isocyanate was leaked from the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) plant in the city.
However, the son of Ghulam Dastagir, Shadab, is not happy with the portrayal of his father in the series, without the due credit. He urged the makers to rectify their mistakes and re-release the show, with a necessary tribute to the unsung hero of the tragedy.
In a recent conversation with an Indian publication, Shadab said, “This web series should be released again after naming it after my father, the real hero of the disaster. This is not entertainment, it is the story of one person frozen in one night which will be seen and heard as an inspiration for generations.”
He continued, “The biggest regret is that a responsible production like [the] Yash Raj banner did not consider it important to give credit and pay tribute to the hero on whom you are taking commercial advantage by making a web series. Wasn’t it necessary for you to give him a tribute?”
“Whenever the name of Bhopal gas tragedy comes up, the name of Ghulam Dastagir will come into mind,” Shadab stated.
“The sacrifices are being tarnished through this web series. You can’t destroy the essence of someone’s life in one night like this,” he concluded.
Moreover, he also accused the banner of using the story of his father without the consent of the family and revealed that they had already given the rights for a film to another production house.