Instead of collapsing physically and mentally, she and her husband Shekhar fought for over two decades against a system which favoured the very influential super rich, like the real-estate developers who owned Uphaar. That fight was documented in the book “Trial By Fire: The Tragic Story of the Uphaar Fire Tragedy”, authored by the parents (published by Penguin Random House India on September 19, 2016) , and now made into a web-series, streaming on Netflix from January 13, 2023.
As established in court, the fire from which the sparks and smoke found their way into the theatre need not have happened if the Uphaar owners had taken basic precautions. What was even more shocking was that there was an earlier fire in the transformer-area on the morning of June 13, 1997, but that the technicians of the Delhi Vidyut (Electricity) Board, perhaps acting under the influence of the theatre-management, did a quick and shoddy patch-up job so that the power could be switched on in time for the same day’s matinee-show for which Neelam had bought balcony tickets for her two children. What was horrendous was that, for the matinee show of June 13, 1997, the main exit-doors for the balcony seats had been locked from outside by the ushers who had pushed off and presumably wanted to return when the screening stopped. Apart from the 59 who could not get out and died of asphyxiation because the doors were locked, 103 were seriously injured in the stampede that followed, with the gangway being blocked due to the addition of 52 extra balcony seats and the installation of a private eght-seater box. All the victims were from the balcony. .
Once Neelam got over the initial horrific shock, she spent the next 25 years of her life on a mission to first bring the super affluent theatre-owners cum real-estate developers to book, and then to ensure proper and fully-functional fire-safety measures at not just cinema-theatres but other public places, including educational institutions where the forum she started (AVUT or the Association of Victims of the Uphaar Tragedy) campaigned for something as basic as a fire-extinguisher on every floor of every school.
That it took over two decades for the final judgment to be delivered was because concerted attempts were made to sabotage the process by every means, legal and illegal. For instance, the Ansal brothers claimed that they had given up their involvement with the Uphaar theatre months before the fire. While working with the prosecution in the immediate wake of the fire, Neelam Krishnamoorthy had meticulously xeroxed each and every document of the court records, including those which showed the Ansal brothers paying taxes even around the time of the fire. However, the original tax-receipts mysteriously `disappeared’ from the records when the case was subsequently heard in court. The Delhi Electricity Board technician, who did a shoddy job repairing the transformer which caught fire just hours before the tragedy, was persuaded to take the entire blame and his family expenses were looked after when he was in jail.
Members of the association Neelam started were offered instant compensation by a shady intermediary if they backed out from the campaign. The vehicle of one person who had taken compensation but wanted to return the money after joining the association was attacked by men with iron rods while he was taking his wife and child for an outing in his car. The same association member was suddenly fired from his job and his son was abruptly suspended from his school. A smear campaign was organized to make out that Neelam was more interested in publicity than in justice. . . . .
Justice delayed turned out to be justice denied. While the Ansal brothers were convicted of both criminal negligence and of tampering with evidence, the appropriate sentence was not enforced because the defendants’ claim of being very old and in very poor health was accepted. Even the initial compensation of Rs 18 lakhs for the death of victims whose age was over 20 and of Rs 15 lakhs for those below 20 was reduced to Rs 15 lakhs and Rs 7.5 lakhs, respectively, once the Anslal brothers claimed they did not have enough funds. An indication of the intensity of the campaign for justice undertaken by the traumatized Krishnamoorthys and AVUT can be seen in the book Neelam and her husband Shekhar authored, titled “Trial by Fire: The Tragic Tale of the Uphaar Fire Tragedy”, which has now been made into a web-series, starring Rajshri Deshpande and Abhay Deol, and helmed by Prashant Naik whose 2015 venture “Umrika” won an award at the Sundance Film Festival in the USA, and produced by Endemol Shine India and The Story Ink.
The Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, has been awarded 48 times and mainly to political leaders. It is time to recognise the contribution of those.individuals who fight a lonely battle for years and years to challenge and change the system, and who refuse to collapse in the face of the most heartbreaking and tragic loss.
When Unnati and Ujjwal left for the Uphaar matinee-show at 2.30 pm on the afternoon of June 13, 1997, that was the last time Neelam and Shekhar saw their children alive. When the kids kissed Neelam goodbye, they promised to be back by 7.30 in the evening. All of 17, Unnati had just got her school-leaving examination results and planned to apply for the B.Com (Honours) in Delhi University colleges. She wanted to be a company secretary. She loved dressing up and hanging out with friends, Ujjwal, a good singer like his dad, had started singing jingles for advertising agencies, while standing on a stool so as to reach the mike. He wanted to do a course in marine-engineering after finishing school. The one thing Unnati and Ujjwal had in common was that both loved seeing movies. And J P Dutta’s “Border” was a movie Unnati and Ujjwal did not want to miss. After the movie, the children had planned to buy a “Father’s Day” card for their dad. :
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In the absence of Unnati and Ujjwal, Neelam Krihnamoorthy has just one goal in life. In a TV news-channel interview, she was quoted as saying, “Each day I repeat this promise to my children: I will fight to ensure that no other mother suffers this pain that I endure each day. I will raise my voice to ensure that an Uphaar is never repeated and that public places in India are made safe. I know this is not an easy task but it’s the mission of my life, a promise to my children I have to fulfill. I get my strength from my children. When I am very upset, I go to my children’s room and sit there.””
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