Come November, the Right to Information Act will be part of your lives in a new way. To promote the already increasing use of the sunshine law, an animated film, Chakravyuh, will be screened in theatres across India.

An initiative by award-winning animation film-maker Dhvani Desai, the 3.10 minute film made in public interest is produced by the film division of the central government. It will first be screened on October 12, the eighth anniversary of the RTI Act, before being shown in theatres.

Desai says that the idea for the film was born out of problems she went through herself. “In my own building, the society was completely breaching our trust. Despite running from pillar to post in government departments, nothing worked. But with an RTI application, everything fell into place.

It even worked for people who I had filed RTI applications for. That was when I thought of telling people about its success through a film,” said Dhvani, who has won gold and bronze medals for her films at the Houston and New York film festivals.

In Chakravyuh, every character is a worn out citizen the system has failed. Even after years of running around, they cannot get their pensions, ration cards and other basic things. “They then learn about the RTI Act and how it can help them break this ‘chakravyuh’ of corruption through empowerment,” said Desai.

Instead of focusing on bigger scams, the film focuses on small issues like getting people their passports and ration cards without paying bribes. “This is because these are issues that affect the common man. And the common man wants these matters to be sorted out before going in for bigger changes,” said Desai.

“The RTI Act is the most widely used Act and needs more publicity. The film is very informative and will help people use the Act. Since scheduling in theatres takes over a month, the film will be screened across India by November,” said VS Kundu, director, General Films Division.

“We will also try to show them in all our workshops, so that this can educate people,” said Narayan Varma, convenor of Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT), which will screen the movie for the first time at the Indian Merchant’s Chamber, along with the chamber’s anti-corruption cell.