Why you should listen to Abhay and Sneha

Animation characters representing male and female cops respectively, will be hitting movie screens in short 3D films next week to give you the lowdown on everything from traffic safety to security awareness

A woman drops a bag in a crowded mall and sulks away. A mother, whose curious child runs toward the bag to pick it up, alerts Sneha, a cop standing close by. Sneha congratulates the mother for her quick thinking and issues a warning to people to stay away from the bag until it is checked.

This is one of a series of short 3D animation films created by Graphiti Multimedia in association with the Mumbai Police, to drive home the message of awareness.

Part of an initiative under the aegis of the Cop Tech Forum, the short films hope to raise the issue of how safety can be achieved by mutual synergy between the police and citizens, says Graphiti Multimedia Director, Kanakasabapathy Pandyan.

"We wanted to create characters who would make people more comfortable in dealing with the police."
In late 2010, Abhay and Sneha were born. "Animation was seen as a simple and effective way of reaching out to the youth, with a positive message," says Deven Bharti, Additional Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch.

Pandyan gives us an example of the Air India mascot, the Maharaja, saying, the idea was to create characters who stick on in public memory, and can be recalled for future police initiatives.

All the films (of which three are ready for release) depict appropriate behaviour in a situation. "For example, Abhay congratulates the driver who abides by the red traffic light while reprimanding another who doesn't."

What's next for these animated law enforcers? "We have just launched an initiative called e-mitr, where college children will volunteer to keep the Wi-Fi connections in their housing societies secure," says Bharti.