In the last two years, the Indian film industry went through a big change. With theatres being shut, many filmmakers took the OTT route for their projects, but there were some, like Yash Raj Films, that preferred to wait it out and arrive only in theatres, a decision that I really respect and admire as a cinema buff. With theatres opened now countrywide, their slate of films is ready and now they are even entering the OTT space on their own terms with a rather intriguing project.
YRF’s OTT production business is named as YRF Entertainment and their first OTT series is titled The Railway Men. It is a tribute to the unsung heroes of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy. This man-made industrial disaster struck 37 years ago today in central India due to the leak of methyl isocyanate gas from a pesticide factory owned by American Union Carbide Corporation. Reportedly more than half a million people were poisoned by the gas and over 5000 lost their lives, while the survivors and their future generations suffered with chronic health diseases. To salute the heroes of that fight, who saved thousands of lives, Aditya Chopra announced the project today.
Check out the announcement:
The Railway Men will be directed by Shiv Rawail and will feature R Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon, Divyendu Sharma and Babil Khan. The series went on floors yesterday and is about the resilience of human spirit in the face of a disaster. It will stream from December 2, 2022.
Aksahye Widhani, Senior Vice President, Yash Raj Films, says:
“The Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the world’s worst industrial disaster that has impacted scores of people since the tragedy struck the city 37 years ago. At YRF, we are constantly trying to develop the best compelling stories for audience and this is our tribute to the unsung heroes of the tragedy who, despite saving thousands of lives on that fateful day, are still unknown to people across the world.”
Yogendra Mogre, Executive Producer, YRF Entertainment, adds:
“The Railway Men is our salute to their spirit, their courage and their humanity. This is a story that needed to be told. We are not going to leave any stone unturned to ensure that this story reaches out to audiences, across the world, in the best possible way so that they can understand the depth of devastation that this tragedy has caused in India.”
The Bhopal Gas Tragedy is one of those events that is etched in the memory of all Indians that were alive on that day. It brought out fear, empathy and all kinds of emotions in them, so it will be a big responsibility for the makers to do it justice, keeping in mind what people have gone through because of it. But if there is someone who has the resources to do it in the most dignified way, it has to be YRF. With a casting like this, I am curious to see them all together, and especially Babil as his late father, Irrfan Khan, has earned a lot of love with his work across the world, so it will be interesting to see how he carries his legacy forward.