TRIVIA:

Local Regulations:

In Chennai alone there are about 45000 auto rickshaws, or autosYour browser may not support display of this image.

Now out of approx.45,000 35,694, or almost 78.5% have re calibrated meters, the city's requirement after a long history of illegal haggling between passengers and drivers, poorly calibrated meters that when run side by side would often compute different rates for the same journey and other hassles. The official rates that passengers can now expect to pay is Rs.14 for the first two kilometers and Rs.6 for every additional km.

History and Inventions:

The first rickshaw was invented in 1869 by an American Baptist minister, Rev. E. Jonathan Scobie, to transport his invalid wife around the streets of Yokohama, Japan.

The first Auto Rickshaw was developed by N.K. Firodia, a Gandhian who had a vision for industrializing India after independence. The first auto rickshaws were produced in India and rolled off the factory floor in late 1957.

Auto Rickshaws in the Movies:

Because autos are such an integral part of everyday life in India auto wallahs are often found in movies but are often cast as kidnappers, getaway drivers and villains. Bollywood superstar Rajnikanth and the late Shankar Nag in 'Auto Raja' portrayed heroic auto wallahs and their likenesses can be found on rickshaws and stands.

Since 1912's 'Romance of a Rickshaw' an early American silent film focused on the romantic relationship between passenger and driver filmmakers all over the world have been captured by the drama of Rickshaw Wallahs from the outdated pull carts to today's autos rushing maniacally through crowded streets.

1938 'Rikshawala' a Hindi movie by Ezra Mir
1955 'Rikshawala' a Hindi movie by Satyen Bose was released
1960 'Rickshaw' TV short documentary by Canadian Allan King
1995 'Ore Rickshaw' political Tamil movie by director Narayna Rao Dasari
1998 'Rickshaw' a Portuguese short film by Rui Simones
2004 'The Rickshaw Drivers' short by Jan Gassmann interviewing rickshaw drivers in Southern India Your browser may not support display of this image.

Most often however the humble rickshaw and its' driver are merely secondary characters in a story such as Ram Gopal Varma's highly anticipated 'Sholay' remake in 2007.
But it's not only Indian movies and documentaries that love the auto rickshaw.

The 1983 James Bond film 'Octopussy' has a famous chase scene where Roger Moore's Bond and an Indian MI6 agent (Vijay Amritraj) escape their pursuers in an auto rickshaw filled with close calls, stylish dialogue and other signature Bond elements.

In 1984 one of the most famous hard-to-spot cameos has Producer Frank Marshall playing a rickshaw coolie in the background of 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.'

In 2003 the Thai blockbuster reintroduced auto rickshaws to a global audience with a spectacular chase scene that ends with taxis crashing into buildings, flying off highways and exploding into flames.