Being an Air Traffic Controller

Explore the gripping reality of managing one of the world's most perilous and demanding occupations. Step beyond the secure gates of Mumbai's Air Traffic Control (ATC) during its relentless peak hours and delve into the lives of the unsung heroes at its core.

As the clock ticks, split-second decisions with life-altering consequences are the norm. Amidst the high-stakes environment of the ATC, errors are simply not an option. This documentary invites you to intimately connect with the individuals who shoulder the responsibility during this pulse-pounding narrative. With India's aviation industry soaring to new heights alongside its global counterparts, the imperative of safe and efficient air travel lies jointly in the hands of the ATCs and pilots. Embark on an eye-opening exploration that unveils the intense interplay between human dedication and the skyward expansion of flight.

Crew

Direction / Edit / Cinematography: Bidit Roy

Key cast: A.B. Joshi, Sandeep Giri, Sachin Kumar, Nevin Reji, Ranvinder Singh, Abdul Nazim

Director's Note

As a school kid, I grew up watching lot of Air Crash Investigations on National Geographic. Evidently, I got fascinated about Air traffic controlling. I never thought that I would meet an ATC until last year when a chance reunion with Devendra Patodiya after 7 years revealed that he is an ATC at Mumbai airport. I knew him from a coaching class back in Jodhpur when I was preparing for engineering entrance exams.

When I and my friend Bharat Verma visited the tower in May 2017, it was a sight to behold. You witness the energy, teamwork and ingenuity of these people in handling the volume of flights coming in. Life altering decisions are taken in split seconds. There's just no room for error.

As a filmmaker, I felt the urge to share their side of stories with the world to watch, with an intention that the common man understand and appreciate the great level of service offered to us by these handful of highly trained professionals across the world.

The whole process of production at Mumbai airport took almost an year with majority of the time getting consumed for securing the filming permissions from a range of government & private entities - testing my patience like never before.