R Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon, Divyenndu Sharma to star in YRF's maiden OTT project The Railway Men

Yash Raj Films (YRF) is venturing into the digital space with its first big project titled The Railway Men.

The web-series, which is a tribute to the unsung heroes of the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, stars R Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon, Divyenndu Sharma and the late Irrfan Khan's son Babil.

YRF announced this project on the same day the tragedy struck 37 years ago. The Railway Men will be directed by first-time director Shiv Rawail, son of filmmaker Rahul Rawail, and written by Aayush Gupta.

Speaking about the show, Akshaye Widhani of YRF told the Hindustan Times newspaper, “The Bhopal gas tragedy is the world’s worst industrial disaster. 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 the fateful day, are still unknown to people across the world.”

The web-series is slated for release on 2 December 2022. The platform has not been announced yet.

For the unversed, the disaster unfolded in the late hours of 2 December 1984, when deadly methyl isocyanate gas leaked from a pesticide factory owned by the American multinational company Union Carbide Corporation.

According to news reports, thousands of people were poisoned that night in their sleep. Official reports put the death toll at 5,000 with more than half a million suffering the after-effects of the gas for years. Survivors of the incident have said their children and grandchildren have also been struggling with chronic health problems till date.