The Ansals were one of the most prominent business people India produced in recent years. The Uphaar Cinema was one of the ventures that made them the prominent topic of the socialite club, and rightly so, for if you ever wanted to catch the latest flick, you went to Uphaar cinema.
So you can forgive anyone for going to Uphaar cinema on 13th June 1997 to catch a 3 pm screening of Border, the erstwhile hit, it was business as usual and the coffers of the Ansals were filling gradually. And some moments later a stampede happened that killed 59 people, who were terrified by a sudden fire that caught on satanic proportions in the blink of an eye. Death had knocked on the doors and it made sure to reap its grim harvest with glacial indifference. Many lawsuits later, involving the famous lawyer KTS Tulsi and many tearful protests later, the cinema still stands in nearby Green Park as a reminder of the unexpected calamity that changed fortunes for the worse in the blink of an eye.
AVUT, the association formed by all the victims fought tooth and nail in the Indian judicial system, notorious for siding with the rich clients and were awarded 25 crores which is a rarity in a high profile case as such but then can any amount of money ever be equivalent to a life, remains the age old adage. 26 years later a Netflix starring the phenomenally talented Abhay Deol and renowned activist Rajshri Deshpande bring back the memories of the tragedy without ever straying into mawkish territory but it is perfectly scripted with just the adequate amount of grit and truth. Years later the cinema stands on and so do the Ansals that were acquitted a year back, which keeps on the question relevant- why does the law make pain such an important component of an already tortuous process?