By Amina Khatoon

Accident is a true reflection of the current public transport system in the city of Kolkata. The director duo Shibprasad Mukhopadhyay and Nandita Roy have picked a very topical issue and have made a film that will shake you with its portrayal of a reality we all know has always been there. It is also a must watch for everyone who is even remotely associated with the transport department, including the transport minister.

What’s it about?
The film revolves around three families and how an accident brings three persons of these families together to declare war against the system and ultimately change it. Arko (Shiboprosad Mukherjee) and Ria (Sampurna Lahiri) had lost their only child Babai (Sankarshan Das) in an accident. A private bus, driven by Kartick (Rudranil Ghosh) and owned by Madan Parta (Kharaj Mukherjee) mowed down the child because the vehicle had a technical defect. Insurance investigator Swapan Chakravarty (Deb Shankar Halder), an intelligent man of strong principles had witnessed the accident but when he finds out that the driver was not the main responsible for the accident, he doesn't hesitate to make mention of the faulty mechanism in his report, risking his job because the chairman of the defaulting corporate giant is a big client.

What's hot?
This film stands firmly on the pillars of powerful performances by actor-director Shibprasad, Deb Shankar, Rudranil and Kharaj Mukherjee. Even the cameos by Sabyasachi Chakrabarty and Kanchan Mullick are memorable. The directors have paid a lot of attention to detailing - the gutka-chewing driver who talks on the phone while driving, the foul-mouthed bus owner, indifferent police, morgue assistants who would make money over dead bodies, blood-sucking lawyers, errant bus drivers getting bail easily, how defective vehicles get fitness certificate, et al.  Music and songs were completely in sync with the story and add to the mood. The intermittent flashback scenes of the child don't let the audience forget about the tragedy.

What's not?
Some of the characters, including the bus driver's wife, the conductor and the driver himself were mostly dressed in clothes too fashionable for their characters. Actors need to stop being fussy about wanting to look good, irrespective of the character.

What to do?
Watch it, and if you have a friend in the transport department, take him or her along.

in.com rating: 3.5/5

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