Six hundred and sixty — that is the number of people who died in various road accidents between January 2011 and June 2013 in Coimbatore. Of this, more than 200 people were killed in bike accidents. “In motorcycle accidents, the riders were not wearing helmets and they succumbed to head injuries. Many lives can be saved by wearing a helmet,” says Rakki Mahesh, traffic head constable at B4 Police Station in Race Course.
His short film Nil Gavani Sel , released recently by Coimbatore City Police Commissioner A.K.Viswanathan, packs in these statistics and conveys the message on traffic awareness. “When the commissioner released the statistics of road accidents to the media, I was shocked to learn about the number of deaths. That is why I made the short film,” he says. This is Mahesh’s third short film. His earlier films PinjuManasiley spoke about caring for the old, and IppadikkuPolice tackled the hazards of drunken driving.
In Nil Gavani Sel, he shows how a family suffers when it loses the breadwinner to a road accident. “The short film is based on a real life accident where an inspector died when his vehicle was hit by a speeding lorry. Most accidents happen on the highway because of over-speeding,” he explains. Other reasons are drunken driving, speaking on the cell phone while driving, having more than two people riding pillion, and overcrowded public transport vehicles. “Even today, people don’t obey traffic rules and fail to take safety precautions. While driving a car, wearing a seat belt is necessary. How many of them follow it?” he asks and says, “We want the public to support the police, follow traffic rules, and bring down the number of accidents.”
Besides public places and colleges, he says there are plans to take the film to schools through police vans that are equipped with a video screen. “I also want to show it to lorry drivers through the Lorry Drivers Association of Tamil Nadu,” he adds.
Mahesh handed over a copy of the film to the former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam during his recent visit to the city and got appreciation from him for his work.
Next up is a film on the growing crime rate and thefts in the city. He is awaiting a sponsor for it.
To know more, call him at 98422-71609 or email rakkimahesh1609@gmail.com
