JOIN USWhen beda trumped beku: Film relives Bengaluru’s big NO to steel flyover
Six years after a landmark citizens’ protest pushed Bengaluru’s ill-conceived steel flyover closer to its eventual shelving, a documentary film has retraced its context and consequence.
'Thou shalt not steel' follows the run-up to the October 16, 2016 protest through men and women who stood up against the Rs 1,900 crore flyover, planned by the Bangalore Development Authority between Basaveshwara Circle and Hebbal.
Vikas Badiger, director of the 42-minute film, was away studying in Italy when the ‘Steel Flyover Beda’ protest was happening in his city, on a Sunday morning. In 2021, a social media post commemorating five years of the protest, by one of the lead campaigners — activist Srinivas Alavilli — led Badiger to the project.
Badiger, founder of Faces of Bengaluru, which produced the film, told DH that a 5,000+ turnout at a citizens’ protest was “historic” for the city.
On the day, about 8,000 people are estimated to have formed a 4-km human chain between Basaveshwara Circle and Mekhri Circle.
“Now, when you see the green cover along the passage that was earmarked for the project, you realise that it remains also because of people who found time, for eight or nine months, to fight the flyover. My takeaway here is the impact of responses to issues of immediate relevance, of fixing the neighbourhood before the world,” Badiger said.
Mobilising dissent
The agitation used diverse tools to hammer home the message of dissent, from drone shots of the greenery, which the flyover was set to displace, to mockumentaries and skits to music concerts.
The film opens with the old city’s history before it sets context for the debate around the flyover — unscientific vision, lack of consultation with the public — and moves on to the protest.
Through interactions with the campaigners, including activist Tara Krishnaswamy, urban designer Naresh Narasimhan and filmmaker Pavan Kumar, the film highlights the possibilities of citizen activism beyond signature campaigns, leading up to the then Congress government’s decision to drop the project.
First screening
'Thou shalt not steel' had its first screening a couple of weeks ago, at the Suchitra Film Society. The makers are trying to pitch the film for a wider audience, through festivals.
The film underlines the protest’s significance for the possibility of the citizen-driven change it created, as captured in actor-director Prakash Belawadi’s comment towards the end of the film: “I think it is going to be increasingly difficult to do stupid projects here.”