A New Era Of Storytelling Arrives As Netflix Partners With Yash Raj Films (YRF)

When two entertainment giants come together, we’re bound to get eye-catching and binge-worthy content out of it. That’s exactly what’s about to happen as India’s most legendary storytelling banner Yash Raj Films (YRF) is coming together with the world’s leading streamer, Netflix to form a new multi-year creative partnership. Netflix addressed this legendary tie-up, in their statement saying, “The two iconic entertainers will collaborate to create films and series to bring defining stories to audiences in India and across the world.“

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YRF has been on a roll this year. The studio’s “Pathaan,” starring Shah Rukh Khan, that released in January, is the biggest Indian box office hit of the year. Khan’s latest “Jawan,” distributed internationally by YRF, released last week and is already the third-biggest hit of the year. The Netflix series “The Romantics,” which was a documentary about the late YRF founder Yash Chopra, was also a hit for the OTT platform. With both Yash Raj Films and Netflix belting hit movies and shows, this partnership proves to be ideal and promising. And they have already announced a new series and a movie together.

Upcoming New Projects

The Railway Men

The first project to come out of this partnership is the character-driver thriller, “The Railway Men.” It is a four-part series starring R. Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon, Divyendu Sharma, and Babil Khan, which is directed by debutant director Shiv Rawail. This series is the studio’s streaming production division, YRF Entertainment‘s maiden effort.

Inspired by true stories, The Railway Men is a show based on the deadly gas leak in the central Indian city of Bhopal. On the night of 2nd December 1984, a cloud of toxic gas escaped from a pesticide plant in the city of Bhopal that injured and claimed thousands of lives. This is the untold story of the unsung heroes, their courage, sense of duty, and humanity, who took it upon themselves to save the city and its people.

Maharaj

The second project to come under the Netflix x YRF partnership is Maharaj. This film marks the debut of Aamir Khan’s son, Junaid Khan, and also stars Jaideep Ahlawat, Sharvari, and Shalini Pandey. Maharaj is directed by Siddharth P. Malhotra, whose last film Hichki was a global hit. 

Also inspired by true events, Maharaj, is an incredible David vs. Goliath story set in the 1800s, about how a regular man who is a journalist by profession, takes on a powerful role model of society who is hailed by many as a messiah for the masses. The fearless reporter uncovers a series of incidents that shake the very foundation of society.

Both the projects already seem to be a very interesting watch with a thrilling and mysterious feel to it along with a stellar star cast.

Netflix & YRF On Their Tie-Up

Speaking about this collaboration, Monika Shergill, VP, Content, Netflix India, said, “We are passionate about serving our broad audiences with series and films that they connect with and love, and we want to do more of this”. According to her, Yash Raj Films have defined the essence of Indian film-making and as an audience, we couldn’t agree more. They are one of the most respected storytellers in the industry.“From Kabhi Kabhie to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, War to Pathaan, their signature stories have been part of our lives and continue to fuel the zeitgeist. Together, we are confident that we can entertain the world with quality films and series like never before,” Monika added.

The CEO of Yash Raj Films, Akshaye Widhani revealed the motive behind this partnership saying, “YRF’s mission is to create entertaining, inspiring and extraordinary stories from India for the world. Netflix is the biggest streamer in the world and offers us an opportunity to tell our stories in over 190 countries. Their belief in the ‘content-first’ approach, is noteworthy and synergistic with our ethos.” This partnership will certainly push YRF as a storyteller to newer audiences and allow them to consume Indian stories in their own languages too. Akshaye further added, “We have 1.4 billion stories to tell the world. We want to showcase our content, as well as provide a platform for our brilliant homegrown talent to a global audience.”

We feel this notable collaboration shall bring a new era of blockbusters that will redefine the course of Indian cinema. And we cannot wait to watch the entertaining content that will come out of this creative partnership!