Shekhar Dattatri and his wildlife films

[Guest guest]

Shekhar Dattatri has been featured in the book ' A Walk On the Wild Side'

published by Center For Environmental Education. His work was mentioned by

Chris Dickinson of Filmmakers for Conservation at the AfA conference in

Singapore last year.

 

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEE20061118052135 & Page=E & Title=Start\

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** *Not a wild goose chase

Saturday November 18 2006 15:43 IST *

 

*P Vasudeva Rao*

 

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*Shekar, who learnt the basics of filmmaking by trial and error method by

observing others, had a chance for the first time to shoot for a TV series

on 'Tiger Reserves In India' when a bored Bollywood cameraman went back to

Mumbai refusing to shoot.

 

An ardent campaigner of conservation and environmental awareness, Shekar

says, ''It is not possible for the government alone to work for

conservation. It is something that has to be undertaken on a war footing by

engaging personnel from every field.'' He expressed grave concern over

increasing acts of poaching and deforestation.

 

Wildlife filmmaking is something he never planned. ''I can say I just

stumbled on it,'' he says. At 13, he used to go to the nearby forest with

the help of locals and spend time watching birds and animals there.

 

How does he go about shooting in the wilds?

 

''The first thing is I make sure that there are no humans around except one

or two crew members. We humans are the most dangerous compared to others.

And the next thing is we are not allowed to carry any weapons while entering

sanctuaries. The biggest weapon one can carry is the psychology of animals

present in the sanctuary,'' he says.

 

When he was shooting the film Monsoon: India's God of Life his crew

consisted of only three members.

 

''As long as you do not disturb or harm animals, they won't attack you. Once

you cross your limits and go beyond the safe distance, then you are in

trouble. You have to observe their body language and if they are hostile you

have no other go except to go back and come the next day,'' says the

filmmaker.

 

Shekar, who got inspired by western filmmakers and Discovery Channel, has

produced over 20 documentaries on wildlife in a career spanning over 20

years, winning several national and international awards. He was one of the

recipients of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise in 2004. He has been

campaigning for environmental issues by writing articles. His latest film on

Point Calimere Bird Sanctuary has just rolled off the editing table.

 

Some of his well-known films include The Good Snake, Nagarahole — Tales From

An Indian Jungle and The Ridley's Last Stand. Though his love and commitment

for environment is the driving force to continue in this uncertain

profession, he says, wildlife filmmaking is a very specialised field, we can

hardly find a dozen such filmmakers in the country. He hinted at setting up

an institute in the future for imparting training in wildlife filmmaking.

 

Besides films for television, he also produces short documentaries for

conservation NGOs, and informational films that are screened at visitors'

centers in various national parks and sanctuaries in India.*