Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain

One of the best films I have ever watched. Bhopal wasn't just an industrial disaster; it was a human one. It reflects the failure of design, implementation, and a neglect for the inherent humanity found in all of us. These actors brought this story to life and made it human. Rajpal Yadav shows us as the protagonist the difficult position community members were placed in- likely unaware of the extraordinary risk they were taking in working for Union Carbide. Mischa Barton and Kal Penn reflect what more journalists must stand for - pursuit of the truth. These three actors brought characters to life that show the good in people- and what we are all fighting for. In doing so, they have created an emotionally charged film that forces us all to reflect on what kind of world we want to live in. Bhpoal: A Prayer for Rain is a must watch.

I know better than to wholly trust what I see in a film. But Ravi Kumar's honest and haunting story of what really happened on December 1984 at the heart of India makes my view on the topic clear. The figures may never be accurately exacted, but the magnitude of the tragedy is explicit. Who's to be blamed? The film says what we want to hear.

Union Carbide is seen adopting poor working conditions from the beginning even when they were alerted of the disastrous effects of MIC (Methyl Isocyanate), the chemical the plant produced, in 1982. Giving the story a dramatic addition of a family, the film takes you on a gradual fact-finding trip as "pure negligence" is termed as the single, great cause of the whole tragedy. Negligence by everyone involved: the government, the UCC, and partially even the employees. Also, structural changes were made to the plant, and as the Carbide called it Indianization, which triggered the leak. The fact that journalism acted without effect puts us in a state of confusion: whether to believe it or not. Had journalism been paid heed like we do now in 2014, Bhopal Gas Tragedy COULD have easily been averted. Many things together caused the tragedy and the only way to right this wrong was to strictly regulate industrial operations, which is still a debatable topic. The compensation was like a honorarium.

The performances by Rajpal Yadav, Martin Sheen & Kal Penn is what drives the film into a suspense thriller. The only sadness we have as an audience is that we can't go back in time and try to delete the incident. A pre-credit montage of the aftermath is the silver lining of the film. It says that Union Carbide never apologized, which is even graver a fact.

BOTTOM LINE: One of the many pleasures while watching this historical drama is that Warren Anderson is dead as a dodo. Recommended!

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

"Bhopal: A prayer for rain" is a true event that happened in Bhopal, a CAPITAL city in MADHYA PRADESH state located in India.

This is the second movie regarding this event, only but this one more focused over what this is all about.

It may lead you to think, if your neighborhood is safe, if you are in a industrialized area. And if you know something sort of that then you are a educated fool, if the Government is corrupt and the facility is in gross negligence.

What's use of that knowledge if you can't do anything when you already know it. In this movie, I think ignorance killed all the people.

GENERAL AWARENESS....IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT, YOU GET POISONED.

This documentary drama is about something everyone should know about and make sure the human race should not repeat. What happened 30 years ago should have never happened and it is truly sad this film is based on this true story. Bhopal: A Prayer For Rain is not only a reminder of what happened, but a story we must remember, so we do not repeat it.

This film is a documentary, but is also a story and a drama. There is no comedic relief. There is strong messages and lessons to be learned.

The story begins when a multinational company, Union Carbide India opens a chemical factory which contains the number one most dangerous chemical to humans in the world. The company responsible for the factory is sadly not making much money and, as a result, they cut their safety regulations. This does not end up as a good idea for, in 1984, the factory had a major leak and the deadly chemical called MIC quickly shot into the air, and into the surrounding air which covered a major town called Bhopal. Thousands die while hundreds of thousands are injured and even today, 30 years later, are still ill.

This film truly shows this event well and shows how many people were effected by it and what the company who caused it did to help the victims. Nothing. Warren Anderson (Martin Sheen) not only doesn't help them, but the India court accuses him of mass murder and the "corporate shield" protects him so he is not affected whatsoever. Martin Sheen plays this role with true conviction.

This film is an incredibly sad story, I cannot choose a favorite scene. My least favorite is when the accident comes to the attention to Warren for the first time. Anyone would expect that he would be in shock or cry or just try to help them. What he does is blame the workers because he gave them an opportunity and they "ruined it." Then, he flees the country when he sees all the dead bodies and is accused of mass murder. I do not like this scene for I believe he should have at the least go to jail for the rest of his life.

This film is very mature so I recommend it for ages 13 to 18. I also give it 5 out of 5 stars for they did a wonderful job retelling this horrid event. This film is playing in select theaters now and is available for digital downloads and streaming.

Reviewed by Gerry O., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic. For more reviews by youth, go to kidsfirst dot org.

Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain is a historical drama film directed by Indian filmmaker Ravi Kumar. Co-written by David Brooks and Kumar himself, the movie presents a highly dramatized version of the events that led to the Bhopal disaster, often referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The disaster was caused by the accidental leakage of methyl isocyanate gas and other toxic chemicals which spread around the shanty towns located near the plant, threatening lives of lakhs and killing thousands. The movie stars Martin Sheen, Mischa Barton, Kal Penn, Rajpal Yadav, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Manoj Joshi and Joy Sengupta in the major roles. The movie is produced by Sahara Movie Studios and Rising Star Entertainment and distributed by Revolver Entertainment. The movie is slotted to release on 5 December 2014 in theatres across India.

Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain succeeds in capturing brilliantly, through its motley of interesting characters, the chaos that became associated with one of the greatest tragedies in modern history. The movie serves as a powerful social commentary that poignantly depicts the plight of the poor in Third World countries like India during the latter part of the 20th century. These countries generally suffered from lack of industrialization, extremely low per capita incomes, low literacy rates, high population growth, poor health and sanitation facilities, weak transport infrastructure, and overdependence on agriculture and allied activities. "Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain". The movie also launches a scathing attack on crony capitalism—a notorious brand of capitalism prevalent in Asian countries wherein success in business depends on the nexus between opportunistic businessmen and corrupt government officials.

Despite going down in the annals of history as one of the major disasters of the 20th century, Bhopal gas tragedy strangely enough hadn't hitherto managed to become the subject of any major motion picture. And, that's precisely what inspired Ravi Kumar to make a movie on the seemingly forbidden subject. Kumar explains: "To my surprise there was little interest from Bollywood or even UK film industry to make a dramatic thriller about a subject with tremendous potential about corporate greed, environment disaster and the spicy mix of politics and multinational giant's profit driven agenda." Kumar got the idea for the movie from Mr. Sanjoy Hazarika's book "Bhopal - Lessons Of A Gas Tragedy," which he had read in 2005. After reading the book, Kumar was bowled over by the thought of a making a major motion picture on the subject. Kumar asserts: "The reason for making this film is not to play the blame game, but learn from history so another tragedy can be avoided. We wanted to make an international feature film with major stars for the world audience who do not know about the tragedy."

Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain has come as a great respite at a time when the element of realism is on the wane in Indian cinema at large. The movie serves as a great example of how the power of cinema can be leveraged upon to bring important historical events back to life for the older generations to relive them and for the coming generations to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. History as a genre is still quite new to the India cinema and a lot needs to be done before it starts getting treated like some of the more conventional genres. The movie is far from being a perfect adaptation of the Bhopal gas tragedy. While the movie captures the essence of the tragedy really well, the narrative, at times, seems to suffer from certain structural flaws. In the act of dramatizing the events so as to make the end product appear more palatable to the masala audiences, the movie, more often than not, appears to be digressing a bit from its central theme.

Overall, Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain can best be described as a brutal but honest attempt on the part of its makers to capture on the celluloid the chaos associated with the Bhopal gas tragedy. It's not great cinema but it's definitely thought-provoking. Despite commercial obligations, and, to its credit, the movie doesn't deviate much from propagating the hard facts pertaining to the mishap. As a social commentary on India of the 1980s, the movie packs a powerful punch. On the technical front, there isn't much to complain about: be it cinematography, sound, or editing. The acting is solid all around, thanks to the presence of an international ensemble cast led by the veteran American actor Martin Sheen and renowned Indian actor Rajpal Yadav. Both Sheen and Yadav are excellent in their respective roles, as are Mischa Barton, Kal Penn, and Tannishtha Chatterjee. The movie features some highly graphic sequences towards the end which may repulse the faint-hearted viewers. The movie is meant for serious filmgoers only; the casual viewers are advised to stay away from it. A must watch for those who admire realism in cinema!

(This review was originally published in my film blog "A Potpourri of Vestiges")