On December 2, 2021, Yash Raj Films announced its foray into the OTT sphere with The Railway Men. The one-season limited series about the human spirit’s perseverance in the face of calamity went on floors the same month in Bhopal, with December 2, 2022, set as its streaming date. Cut to 11 months later, we hear YRF’s debut web series will miss its scheduled date courtesy of the remaining post-production work.
"The Railway Men is a tribute to the unsung heroes of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, who, despite saving thousands of lives on that fateful day, are still unknown to people across the world. YRF Entertainment, the digital content arm of Yash Raj Films, is committed to bringing this man-made industrial disaster to life on screen in the best possible way and is leaving no stone unturned to ensure it showcases the depth of devastation this tragedy has caused in India. The makers have planned this series as a hugely mounted VFX spectacle, and they need some more time and effort to achieve that. They have pushed the release plan in order to finish the remaining VFX work to give audiences an unforgettable cinematic experience with this series," a source close to the development told us, adding that the makers are now targeting the first quarter of next year for its global premiere.
The show stars R Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon, Divyenndu Sharma, and Irrfan Khan’s son Babil Khan in the lead. They play the workers at the Bhopal railway station who saved thousands of lives on December 2-3, 1984, when a cloud of toxic gas leaked from an American pesticide plant in the central Indian city of Bhopal. The show has been written by Aayush Gupta and helmed by debutant Shiv Rawail, who previously assisted on YRF movies like Dhoom 3, Fan, and Befikre.
With The Railway Men deferring its release, the December 2 slot has now been booked by Zee5. The Indian OTT platform will premiere Madhur Bhandarkar’s pandemic-based film, India Lockdown, on that day. Kartik Aaryan's Freddy is also expected to premiere on the same day on Disney+Hotstar, but there hasn't been a confirmation on that so far. Netflix India has also lined up Anvitaa Dutt’s Qala for December 1st, which interestingly also stars Babil Khan in the lead. Ayushmann Khurrana and Jaideep Ahlawat’s An Action Hero is also slated to release in cinemas on December 2.
