The horrors of accidents retold

Amit Mitra came to Bangalore six years ago and the city welcomed him with open arms. He now has a decent job, home and a family.
Successful in life, 34-year-old Mitra decided to express his gratitude to the city.  Concerned over the instances of road accidents, the systems analyst embarked on a mission to spread awareness on safety.

Mitra chose to focus on road accidents since he felt that was what bothered the city most. His hobby, videography, came in handy for the mission, and the result was a documentary film — Lives Lost and Saved.

Through this documentary, Mitra was hoping to make a difference to lives of two-wheeler riders, who comprise more than 71% of the motorists in the city.

“I succeeded in my job, got married, bought a home and my wife is now expecting. Bangalore has given me everything, and I wanted to pay a tribute to this city.  What better than trying to address the grave problem  faced by the city,” said Mitra, explaining the motive of his mission.

With road accidents becoming news items on a daily basis, Mitra focused his camera on the tales of survivors. He felt that sharing survivors’ experience would make riders learn from others’ mistakes.

“Almost everyone would have experienced a road accident. I have met with an accident, and am still scared of using a two-wheeler. Every time I see my friends taking out their two-wheelers, I worry for their safety,” Mitra added.

According to the Bangalore traffic police statistics, as many as 803 people were killed in city roads till November 30, this year.
Once he decided on the documentary, he contacted the additional commissioner of police (traffic) Praveen Sood.

“I shot a mail to Sood a year ago, and surprisingly received his reply within 10 minutes. With his support and the support from several others from various fields, I spent time with the victims, visited the accident spots, travelled in 108 ambulances, and waited at the causality sections of hospitals. After a certain period, several friends approached me to share their experiences,” Mitra said.

The documentary maker said he was planning to take his work to colleges. “College students are prone to such accidents and we have plans to approach colleges to screen the documentary. Also approaching the corporate companies is among our agenda,” Amit added.

The documentary, edited by filmmaker Ryan Lobo, would premiere at the Alliance Francaise on Thursday evening.