Pune Municipal Corporation makes film on railway track deaths

Flyover, a short film made by some Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) employees, would be screened for the civic staff at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch at noon on December 15.

Scriptwriter and director of the film, Ganesh Devidas Kadam, a junior clerk at Vishrambaug ward office of the PMC, said that the 20-minute film highlights the rising number of deaths on railway tracks. He said the film was first screened at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in the presence of veteran Marathi film director, Raj Dutt, on October 10.

“At least 1,000 people are killed in Mumbai and Pune while crossing railway tracks every year. I have tried to create awareness about this serious issue through my film,” he said.

While experts have helped Kadam in the technical aspects of the film, other responsibilities were shouldered by 11 of his colleagues who worked for the Rs3.50-lakh project.

The three child artistes in the film — Roshan Joshi, Swapneel Pandit and Yashodeep Gawade — are from the PMC’s Vidya Niketan School in Yerawada. Another PMC employee, Ganesh Dugane, played the role of an actor and was also in-charge of the production and accounts units.

Kadam wants to make another film for a social cause and this time he wants to highlight the problem of global warming in the Indian context.

“I want to make a film on global warming, but only after we get a producer. We have spent a lot of money from our pockets on Flyover and it is not possible to do it again,” he said.

Kadam thanked the PMC employees’ union for extending a helping hand and hoped that the civic body will screen the film in all its schools.

He also said that the railway authorities have promised him that some important scenes from the film would be shown on the TV screens at railway stations.