Endemol Shine India is producing a web series based on Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy’s book Trial By Fire: The Tragic Tale Of The Uphaar Fire Tragedy.
The series will be directed by Prashant Nair whose 2015 film Umrika won a World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Nair was also one of the directors on Amazon Prime Video web series Made In Heaven.
Mumbai-based The Story Ink put the project together and the company’s founder Sidharth Jain will be a producer on the series.
The Krishnamoorthy’s fought for justice for 19 years for their children, Unnati and Ujjwal, who were amongst the 59 people killed in the Uphaar Cinema fire in Delhi in 1997. Their book, which follows the couple as they play different roles including researchers, legal assistants to their attorney and activists, also argues that public spaces in India are still vulnerable to such tragedies today.
Abhishek Rege (pictured), CEO of Endemol Shine India, said: ‘We at Endemol Shine India are always on the lookout for stories and characters that will touch an audience at its core. At the heart of this story is the Krishnamoorthys’ determination to fight in memory of their children and lays bare their personal loss and struggle for closure.
“The loss of a child and the anguish of the parents who are fighting for justice on behalf of their children are difficult emotions and Prashant Nair was the perfect choice to bring this authentic, sensitive and hard-hitting real-life tragedy to screen.”
Endemol Shine India is currently producing Bombay Begums, written and directed by Alankrita Shrivastava for Netflix India, as well as joining forces with Shekhar Kapur and UK production company Tiger Aspect to develop The Ibis Trilogy for the international market.