Yash Raj Films is foraying into India's burgeoning digital content (over-the-top or OTT) market. The streaming content creation arm of YRF will be known as YRF Entertainment, and it will produce five major projects in its first year. 'The Railway Men', a tribute to the railway employees at Bhopal station who are the unsung heroes of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, the world's largest man-made industrial disaster, is the first major project from the banner to touch the floors. On the same day, YRF unveiled this endeavour to honour the Bhopal heroes who saved thousands of lives during the tragedy 37 years ago. Shiv Rawail, who was homegrown at YRF and is mentored by Aditya Chopra, is directing 'The Railway Men.'
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Rawail will kick things off at YRF Entertainment with his content-driven one-season limited series about the human spirit's perseverance in the face of calamity. 'The Railway Men' will star R. Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon, Divyenndu Sharma, and Babil Khan, among others. The play is directed by these four actors, and the business will announce the presence of several other great performers in the near future. 'The Railway Men' began filming on December 1st.
“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 the 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.” says Akshaye Widhani, Senior Vice President of Yash Raj Films in a statement.
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YRF Entertainment's Executive Producer, Yogendra Mogre, 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.”
A pesticide factory owned by the American Union Carbide Corporation released methyl isocyanate gas in the late hours of December 2, 1984. More than half a million people were poisoned that night, according to reports, with an official death toll of almost 5,000.
Thousands of survivors have stated that the leak has left them, their children, and grandkids with persistent health problems such as cancer, blindness, respiratory, immunological, and neurological issues.
'The Railway Men', a film by YRF Entertainment, will premiere on December 2, 2022, as a tribute to humanity and massive sacrifice in the aftermath of a national calamity.
