The Railway Men, the first production from YRF Entertainment, the streaming production arm of India’s Yash Raj Films, was a carefully considered choice by studio head Aditya Chopra, director Shiv Rawail revealed.
The four-part series pays homage to the unsung heroes of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy and marks the first project in a multi-year creative partnership between Netflix and Yash Raj Films.
In 1984, a cloud of toxic gas escaped from an American pesticide factory in the central Indian city of Bhopal. It killed and injured thousands of people. The protagonists of “The Railway Men” are workers at the Bhopal railway station who have saved thousands of lives.
The cast is led by R. Madhavan (“Rocketry”), Kay Kay Menon (“Bambai Meri Jaan”), Divyenndu Sharma (“Mirzapur”), rising talent Babil Khan (“Friday Night Plan”) and Sunny Hinduja (“ The Family Man). The series marks the directorial debut of Rawail, who previously worked as an assistant director on Yash Raj Films’ productions ‘Dhoom 3’ starring Aamir Khan and ‘Fan’ starring Shah Rukh Khan. Rawail was the first director of Befikre, starring Ranveer Singh in the lead role, was directed by Chopra.
Rawail said, “The only thing I know about my mentor Aditya Chopra is that he would never do anything that he feels is not captivating enough for the audience. I think that’s why YRF has managed to influence pop culture and shape people’s content choices across so many generations.”
“Aditya Chopra has chosen ‘The Railway Men’ as the first series to be produced by YRF for streaming. We worked on the script and pre-production process for over two years before Adi decided to even greenlight the series. He was so special. His reason was simple: Adi wanted the same values of YRF to be reflected in the ethos of YRF Entertainment – his OTT [streaming production] Arm and the projects he produces,” Rawail added.
“Adi wanted to recreate the Bhopal of 1984 while reinforcing the feel and aesthetic of the period. “He was willing to wait and keep improving The Railway Men until he was satisfied that we would do our best to provide compelling entertainment to the audience,” said Rawail.
“The Railway Men” will stream on Netflix from November 18th.