Sandesh Kadur’s journey into man and animal co-existence

An evening walk in the misty Nilgiris with Nandan and Rohini Nilekani sparked a new mission for wildlife filmmaker and photographer Sandesh Kadur.“No one had captured the Nilgiri biosphere on film until now — it felt urgent,” says the Bengaluru-based filmmaker. “We wanted to show how people and the wild have learned to live side by side.” The result: Nilgiris, A Shared Wilderness — a film crafted over three years from 400 hours of footage, whittled down to a gripping 75-minute narrative. It’s not just a story of landscapes and biodiversity, but of a delicate, shifting balance between humans and nature.‘Nature is not a backdrop—it’s a relationship’“The Nilgiris sees massive tourist footfall— that won’t change. What can change is awareness,” he says, adding, “Mainstream films like ours aim to build empathy, especially in children. That’s where it begins.” Kadur’s team witnessed wild animals and local communities adapting to each other in real time. “Years ago, animals stuck to the forests. Now, you might spot a leopard lounging on a boulder in a tea estate. That’s co-existence,” days Kadur who also has footage of a wild cat relaxing against the backdrop of the city. ‘Most unforgettable moment while filming’“There were many, but watching a young hornbill take its first flight stands out,” says Kadur. “Hornbill parents seal their chick inside the nest for safety, feeding it daily. We watched for weeks as a tiny beak poked out of the bark, and eventually, the chick was coaxed out by its parents—especially the male—who stopped feeding it to encourage flight. When it finally launched into the air, it was pure magic.”‘Shooting the Nilgiris wasn’t a walk in the woods’Covering the 5,500 square-km Nilgiri biosphere—spanning Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala—was a logistical challenge. “And choosing which species to include was brutal,” he laughs. “Some team favourites—like the star-eyed bush frog and horseshoe pit viper—didn’t make the final cut. But we’re hoping to feature them in short-format content online,” he says.