There may be numerous short films and documentaries on wildlife but here is a special story about the life of a tigress Machli, who passed away with grace recently, that could melt the hearts of many.
The film, titled ‘The World’s Most Famous Tiger’, is a compilation of nine years of Machli’s life.It was screened for forest officials, secretaries, and other city-based dignitaries on Wednesday and will be rolled out for the people on Monday.The film is going to be telecast worldwide across 147 countries in 37 languages.
“The idea is to sell a conservation story through an emotional way, so that humans can connect to this tiger through me. Since this is from Rajasthan and the dignitaries are working for Rajasthan, there is a special screening,” said S. Nallamuthu, director of the film.
He further said that compiling one decade of Machli into 60 minutes was a challenge.
“We took glimpses of her daughter, and we had to avoid a lot of things. The aim was to keep Machli and her mate at the centre of the story. Her mate is also a very dominant male.It is a tiger’s life from prime to death. I got her last breath on camera. This is the first time we’ve got a wild tiger dying before the camera,” Nalla added. Talking further about the affection towards the animal, GV Reddy, chief wildlife warden of the state, remembered that Machli was born in front of him and he was there when she died.
“For me, personally, it’s nostalgic. I remember she once killed a chital at a place called Lakkadgah,she was dragging it on the road for almost two to 2.5 kilometres before she took it into the bushes for her cubs. It shows the power of motherhood. I can’t forget that scene,” Reddy said.
While talking about the film, Reddy said that it is nice to know that somebody has spent so many years to document how one tigress contributed to the whole population of Ranthambore tiger reserve.
CAPTURE THIS!
- This is a first of its kind observational documentation depicting the true story of a tiger family.
- It follows the life journey of Machli and her family of tigers over a period of nine years, capturing Machli’s life from her prime till her death.
- This film includes exclusive footage of sequences never captured before
- such as male and female tigers living companionably in their old age and the final moments leading up to the natural death of a tiger in the wild.
- The film on Machli is going to be telecast worldwide across 147 countries in 37 languages.
- Machli has produced a gene-pool of 50 tigers. The strongest conservation message that emerges is that, protecting a single tiger can help create a forest
