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First film on RTI screened at IFFI

PANAJI: India’s first film on the Right to Information is out. Ek Cup Chay (A cup of tea) was screened at the 40th International Film Festival of India here to thunderous response from the audiences.

Speaking to The Hindu, directors Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar said: “It is the first film on RTI in any language in the country. We wanted to create awareness of the law among people.”

“The decisions of the government are faceless but they impact the life of the common man for whom the government’s word is law. It is not a propaganda film and addresses the common man who is often at the receiving end of a system which regards him as an anonymous entity,” Mr. Sukthankar added.

Ms. Bhave said: “The innocent-sounding phrase Ek Cup Chay has become an allegory of bribe-seeking across the country. The film focusses on fighting corruption with the help of RTI.”

The film, part of the Indian Panorama, is about how a State transport bus conductor uses the Right to Information Act to fight against a huge electricity bill slapped on him by mistake.

Ms. Bhave and Mr. Sukthankar said their Marathi film, with English subtitles, was a tribute to those who never offered a “cup of tea” to anyone and chose to fight their battles silently.

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