Kozhikode: The much-anticipated premiere of the Bengali short film ` Re-routing' was saved, thanks to the honesty of an autorickshaw driver who returned a lost bag containing the film’s hard disk and laptop.

The film, which has garnered attention across the country, is scheduled to be screened at 9.30 AM tomorrow at Kozhikode’s Crown Theatre. Director Kangana Chakravarthy had arrived in the city two days ago with the only copy of the film stored in a hard disk and laptop. The screening could proceed only if the footage was transferred to the theatre's projector system ahead of time.

On Thursday at 3 PM, Kangana and her team took an autorickshaw from Moonalingal to Link Road. Unknowingly, they left the crucial bag behind. Realising the loss only after the auto had departed, the team promptly filed a complaint with the Kasaba police.

Fortunately, the auto driver, Nellikkottil M Faseel of Kuttikkattoor, noticed the unclaimed bag behind his seat while cleaning his vehicle the next morning. On discovering the electronic equipment inside, he handed the bag over to a police officer at the bus stand aid post. The officer confirmed it was the director’s lost property after checking with the police station.

The timely recovery brought immense relief to the film team, since re-sourcing the footage from Kolkata would have been both time-consuming and expensive. Tickets for the screening had already been sold via online platforms and film societies. The movie's director and her team personally met Faseel outside Crown Theatre and expressed heir gratitude