Conservationists, for long, have been voicing their opinion about the dwindling wildlife that is in dire need of protection. Protection at a large scale that will not just sustain their existence but help them flourish. In that context, Malini Shankar’s attempt at her maiden documentary, ‘Tiger — Maharaja of a fading forest’, is nothing but a repetition of what conservationists have been vocal about for many years. She does not offer too much in the way of information or knowledge that we aren’t already aware of.

On the flip side, it is becoming evident that the only way to hold onto what is left of the forests is constant reinforcement of the scenario, even if it means presenting the same complex situation in a new light. Which is what Malini has done. Her effort to create a multimedia campaign to save tigers, is basically a reiteration of a problem, the solution for which is long pending. In that way, this documentary — for which stills and footages were gathered at Sariska, Ranthambore, Nagarhole and Bandipur — will probably stir you up and get you thinking again.

Going by the title of this 31-minute documentary, one would expect the work to focus just on the tiger crisis.

Though at the onset, it is just that, it gradually shifts to problems engulfing people living in and around the forest land. Man-animal conflict is the obvious result of humans closing in on the territory that’s been demarcated for wildlife. But at some point, especially if the documentary is being screened for an audience who’s knowledgeable about wildlife conservation, one begins to wonder if too much footage has been used to emphasise and sympathise with man’s side of the conflict — crops being raided by elephants and humans falling prey to leopards and tigers.

The two issues are definitely inter-related and what the narration intends to bring forth is that a solution for one might end up resolving the larger problem. But somewhere during the film, the focus on the actual issue of saving the tigers and in the process, the wildlife as a whole, seems to be lost. Part of it maybe because of the lack of actual video footages of tigers that Malini was unable to get during her very brief (eight days to be precise) outdoor exercise to all the four forest reserves mentioned.

That apart, she has included viewpoints of officials of the forest department, locals - who have been compensated by the government to give away encroached forest land area - as well as NGOs fighting to keep alive the forest cover.

Malini Shankar has been writing for leading dailies on environment and wildlife for over a decade with a strong focus on the latter’s conservation. She set up Weltanschauung — Worldview Media Centre, a multimedia content production media house in 2006 with an aim to dedicate it to content creation of topics ranging from biodiversity conservation, water crisis, sustainable development, rights of indigenous people to public health and infrastructure development, to name a few. She plans on working towards a 13-episode documentary, that will take off from this maiden project, for a television channel.

For more information on the production house, log on to www.wwmcindia.com