20 filmmakers, 400 hours of footage, 20,000 hours in the field and four years. That’s how long it took to make ‘Wild Karnataka’, a documentary about the states’ wildlife, the biggest one in the country.
Directed by Amoghavarsha J S, Kalyan Varma, Sharath Champati and Vijay Mohan Raj, music by Grammy-winning composer Ricky Kej and narrated by Sir David Attenborough, it’s the first wildlife film to be released in Indian theatres. It was supposed to be a two-year project but due to climate change and various other factors, it took the team another two years to complete it.
It’s also India’s first natural history documentary made using 4K blue-chip, a tech that wasn’t popular before they started filming. “We didn’t know we would need heavier hard disks. Even a small clip we shot on 4K could not be played on our laptops. Guess it’s a good thing that the film is releasing now, at a time when 4K is widely known,” laughs Amogh, filmmaker and producer of ‘Wild Karnataka’.
Shooting wildlife is nothing like working with actors. The cast here are animals and one cannot predict what and when things could happen. The team had to always stay alert to make sure they didn’t miss anything.
Amogh says, “We always got shots we weren’t expecting. There was a time when we were filming otters. To our surprise, we witnessed the otters chasing a tiger and claiming their territory. It was amazing.”
Using hidden cameras and drone shots, among other new filming techniques, the documentary shows never before seen clips of Karnataka’s wildlife. Amogh says that since everyone in the core team is originally from the state, “we knew it like it’s our backyard”.
Climate change really took a toll on their work. Due to the drought, they couldn’t get the shots of waterfalls as expected or the assembly of elephants.
Nevertheless, to get Sir David Attenborough to narrate was a cherry on top for the team.
“He mostly works with BBC’s Planet Earth. We pulled all the connections we had and he agreed. He’s amazing at what he does. We finished the whole recording in one shot — he didn’t need any retakes,” says Amogh.
However, Attenborough did struggle to say Karanataka and Shivanasamudra. “With a little practise, he aced that too,” Amogh adds.
The intention of the filmmakers isn’t only to make a profit. They want children to come and watch the documentary. “It’s pretty much like the real Jungle Book. From the premiers we’ve had so far, we’ve seen that kids have enjoyed it the most,” he says.
The film is set to be a PVR Cinemas exclusive. ‘Wild Karnataka’ will be in cinemas in Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Chandigarh.