Level Up!, a film on the wait for low floor buses for persons with disabilities in Tamil Nadu

Level Up! showcases the struggle for accessible public transportation in Tamil Nadu, highlighting the need for solidarity and perspective.

Level Up! begins with a cacophony of horns from buses in Chennai’s traffic-ridden roads. The screen announces that about three million people board this form of public transport every day. In quick succession though, the camera takes Fathima’s perspective. This person with disability can be seen hoisting herself with crutches and making the arduous climb up nearly four feet of steps on the bus to finally get to her seat. It is the only way for her to access this now free means of transportation for women in Tamil Nadu.

Over eight minutes, filmmakers and friends Bhargav Prasad, Archanaa Sekhar and Pavithra Sriram, show and tell in equal measure, about the long fight for low-floor buses in Tamil Nadu. “Twenty years ago, Rajiv Rajan filed a public interest litigation demanding that all public transport be accessible. Earlier this year, the Government introduced 58 such buses to their fleet. The Government took much pride in the project but the truth is that this is merely just the start. Rajiv is still waiting for his bus,” says Archanaa, a social activist.

Level Up! is one of the 12 films that has been short-listed for the Nagari Short Film Competition 2024. Hosted by the Charles Correa Foundation, the film contest is conducted annually and is designed to develop films that focus on urban issues in Indian cities. This year, the topic is ‘Mobility in India’ and it is the only film from the South to have been short-listed.

“We had initially planned to begin the film with a shot of a person with disability waiting for a bus but we soon realised that these are uncommon sights in our stops because the city is not planned and built to be accessible by all. The buses are a struggle for everyone including those wearing sarees, the elderly, and children but the truth is that Indians love to adjust and we do until we cannot anymore. The fight is fought by those who cannot. There is need for a solidarity of perspective,” says Pavithra.

This architect who has consulted with the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) says that while there are executional errors on the ground by engineers and contractors who lay uneven pavements, for instance, there is also a general design-based apathy.

This is why bringing multiple perspectives to their short film has been important, says filmmaker Bhargav. “Disabled people use many different modes of transportation but not all of them are affordable. We decided to capture them on the move and showcase them everyday without being preachy. We used the camera’s perspective in some places because I haven’t watched it in other films. As an able-bodied person, it was evident that this was the best way to use perspective,” he says.

Archanaa says that accessible spaces like parks for children with disabilities must not be treated as special projects in isolation. “The idea is to connect the dots. How will parents of children with disabilities take them to these locations for playing? It is not a linear problem and there are multiple parts of the struggle. The film hopes to capture this,” she says.