Why do wild tales fail to make it from forests to films?

A Google search of the phrase “Bollywood movies on wildlife” presents a list of articles that talk about adorable animals stealing the show from actors or best Bollywood movies with animals in them,and more results on those lines. Everything, except wildlife. Perhaps the reason is that not many movies have been made on them.

Bollywood and animals

Animals in mainstream Bollywood movies is not an unheard-of genre per se. Many famous tearjerkers such as Teri Meherbaniyan (1985) or family dramas such as Hum Aapke Hain Koun(1994) and laugh riots such as Entertainment (2014) had adorable domestic animals playing significant roles.

However, wildlife has never managed to have a steady presence in mainstream Bollywood. The Rajesh Khanna-Tanuja-starrer Hathi Mere Sathi (1971) is perhaps the only film that comes to mind when the subject is mentioned. The movie dealt with the theme of human-wildlife coexistence.

Most movies post Hathi Mere Sathi have featured wildlife only in passing or as a prop in the background or to accentuate the masculinity of the male lead fighting them, as seen in Mr Natwarlal(1979) and Himmatwala(2013).

The man-eating big cats of Bollywood

A handful of movies made post 2000 has attempted to talk about wildlife in India, and the equation between them and humans. Bollywood’s occasional tryst with the theme also highlights its fixation with man-eating big cats. But at least an attempt to talk about these issues is made and that’s what counts.

Kaal(2005), is one of those rare commercial potboilers that dealt with the subject in an acceptable manner. The film revolved around a wildlife expert accompanied by his wife investigating reports of tiger attacks in a famous national park. They are met by a group of friends who are on a hunting trip to the park. Kaali, a forest guide, leads them. They are picked off one by one by “tigers.”

The climactic twist of Kaali being revealed as the ghost of a dead forest guide who punishes crimes against wildlife and the forest with death took the audience by surprise. Throughout the movie, the characters are seen showing disregard for the forest and its beings. Thus, they incur the wrath of Kaali.

The Forest(2009) is a love triangle of sorts set in the middle of, you guessed it, a forest. A couple goes on a vacation to a national park. As fate would have it, they run into the wife’s ex-lover and his son. As the romantic tension between the two men and the woman brews, danger lurks in the form of a man-eating leopard. The leopard, having been injured by poachers, is forced to hunt easy prey — humans.

Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans(2014) was a movie about a Royal Bengal white tigress in the Sunderbans taking on a Predator-esque band of commandos out to hunt her down at any cost. A wildlife photojournalist working on an assignment in the Sunderbans, rescues the tigress’ cub from a poachers’ trap and takes it in for safety. However, he is killed by the tigress when she comes looking for the cub. Thus, the premise for the revenge thriller in the Sunderbans is set up. The photojournalist’s brother, an elite commando, leads a team of commandos on a retribution-seeking mission.

With the theme of human-wildlife conflict forming the background, the movies attempted to touch upon various issues such as poaching and loss of habitat that have increased human-wildlife conflict.However, the question of whether this is enough remains.

What is the way forward?

Marianne De Nazareth, a science and environmental journalist, said of movies on wildlife conservation and conflict: “It is not a money-spinner. The idea and message of conservation maybe mentioned in passing in the script,but a script devoted entirely to the subject may never be possible.”

She added that while actors and celebrities from Bollywood lend their support to various campaigns on conservation and environmental issues, it is not likely that full-length movies on the subject will be made.

So why are there numerous movies about important civic and social issues in recent times, but not on wildlife or environmental issues? De Nazareth explained:“These issues are human-centric. They talk about issues that are of importance to human beings.Sometimes they align with the policies and campaigns that the government in power wants to promote. If wildlife is not a priority, it won’t be used in movies either.”

Perhaps a different medium to convey these messages could be the answer. Dr Krithi Karanth, a conservation scientist, said: “Bollywood may not focus on it,but organisations such as BBC, NGC and Animal Planet are spending millions of dollars making blue-chip productions that show spectacular wildlife and places.”

She also pointed out that wildlife film making, having drawn criticism for presenting only the “nice” side of animals and conservation and not the challenges faced by the various parties involved such as conservationists, NGOs, rangers, and more, are now focusing on the presentation of harsher realities of wildlife conservation.

“That shift has begun in wildlife film making. There is consciousness about showing wildlife without romanticizing them and show the difficulties faced while protecting them in a planet of 7 billion people,” she said.

Karanth also said the use of real animals in films is not necessary, with alternatives such as animation being available to get across the same message. This holds good, as Delhi Safari (2012), a National award-winning animated movie featuring the voices of various popular Bollywood actresses dealt with the issue of loss of habitat that increases human-wildlife conflict.

Asked if the medium of Bollywood has the potential to get these critical messages across, Karanth said the old-school way of getting such values only from cinema does not hold good anymore. Highlighting the potential of other alternative mediums suited for the purpose, she said: “With the age of the internet and big players like Netflix and Amazon in the market, I don’t think one or two Bollywood movies are going to make a difference. I think there are other ways of getting content to people. Consistently stream series or short films on it.”