By Somali K Chakrabarti
December 2nd, 1984, was one of the darkest nights in the history of Bhopal and that of India, when poisonous gas flare had leaked out of Union Carbide India Ltd’s (UCIL) pesticide plant, killing thousands of people over the next few days.
Thirty years on, a film ‘Bhopal: A Prayer For Rain’ rakes up the memories of the hapless night as it narrates the heart rendering story of Bhopal gas tragedy, one of the worst industrial disasters in India that occurred due to corporate negligence.
The movie released in the US on 7th Nov and is scheduled to release in India on 5th Dec, 2014. The film is directed by Ravi Kumar, who upon reading Sanjoy Hazarika’s book, ‘Bhopal: The Lessons of a tragedy’, was inspired to make a film on the subject for a younger audience who do not know about Carbide or Bhopal.
The story unfolds through the life of Dilip, a poor Rickshaw driver living in a slum in Bhopal, who struggles on a daily basis to support his wife Leela, his child and his sister. Dilip is elated when he lands himself a job in the UCIL’s pesticide plant – the job helps him to earn wages to feed his family and marry off his sister. The factory is a symbol of progress and prosperity for Dilip. Dilip, however, is not the least aware of the impending dangers on his life and on the lives of his folks.
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