Aditya Chopra wanted to recreate the Bhopal of 1984 with ‘The Railway Men’, says Shiv Rawail

Mumbai, Nov 18

Director Shiv Rawail, who is gearing up for the release of ‘The Railway Men’, said that filmmaker Aditya Chopra wanted to recreate Bhopal of 1984, scaling up the feel and aesthetic of the times.

Rawail said: “The one thing that I know about my mentor, Aditya Chopra, is that he would never make anything that he doesn’t feel is not compelling enough for audiences to watch. I think this is why YRF has managed to influence pop culture and shape the content choices of people for so many generations.”

He added: “Aditya Chopra handpicked The Railway Men to be the first series that YRF makes for streaming. We worked on the script and the pre-production process for over 2 years before Adi decided to even green light the series. He was that particular.

“His reason was simple - Adi wanted the same values of YRF to reflect in the ethos of YRF Entertainment - its OTT arm and the projects that it produces.”

“Adi wanted to recreate the Bhopal of 1984, scaling up the feel and aesthetic of the times.”

Rawail revealed that Chopra was “willing to wait and better The Railway Men constantly till he was confident that we were putting our best foot forward in attempting to deliver clutter-breaking entertainment to audiences.”

The 4-part mini-series that premieres on November 18 on Netflix, is a first from the partnership between Netflix and YRF Entertainment.

'The Railway Men' is a story of extraordinary heroism demonstrated by the employees of the Indian Railways in Bhopal. These individuals rose against all odds to save their fellow citizens on the fateful night of the gas leak, battling an invisible enemy in the air.

Rawail said that ‘The Railway Men’ brings to life one of the most important and relevant subjects that every Indian is aware of.

“So, we had to be sensitive, our show had to showcase how humanity exists within us even when we are individually at risk. We are thrilled we have a show that the company, Adi and Netflix can be extremely proud of.”

Inspired by true stories, this gripping series is a celebration of the indomitable spirit of humanity. The series stars R. Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon, Divyenndu and Babil Khan.