When Sharada Das started experiencing labour pains in the middle of the night, her family began looking for ways to reach her to the hospital. No arrangements for a vehicle could be made. So, her father decided to take her on his Royal Enfield Bullet. When her daughter Pratiksha was conceived, the inclination towards that Bullet came naturally and as a child, she insisted that she sit on the tank. Her love for motorcycles lead her to pursue a diploma in automobile engineering. But that wasn't enough. After she learnt to drive the four-wheeler, she set her eyes on heavy vehicles. Last year, she became the first woman to clear the 30-day BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport) bus training programme, and at 24, obtained a heavy vehicle license by the Regional Transport Office (RTO). This week, a 15-minute documentary titled BEST ONE was made on her journey by city-based Final Draft Productions.

Krunal Acharya, responsible for the concept and direction of the film, had known of Das in college. As a maker of short films, he was looking to direct a documentary when he stumbled upon Das' accomplishments in the news. The two happened to be friends on Facebook, and Acharya pitched the idea to her. "I was nervous because she had already received extensive coverage and didn't know if she'd respond. But she was excited to hear about the project. We [the film-making unit] met her in August 2019 and completed the film on May 10. I wanted to be very clear about the fact that she is not currently a bus driver as articles on the web are claiming," he says.