In Defence of The Golden Mahseer

English/9min 8sec/2003
Producer: Shankar Chandra

Subject Focus: First ever conservation project of the golden mahseer in its natural habitat.

Summary: The Gondwana Foundation is a diverse group. It consists of businesspeople, wildlife biologists, fishery scientists, historians and erstwhile ruling chiefs amongst its members. What brings them together is a love for the Golden Mahseer, one of the biggest freshwater fish in the world. The film documents an effort to reintroduce the Golden Mahseer into a minor tributary of the Yamuna, the Ken.

Producer’s/Director’s Profile: After completing his Masters in Mass Communication from the Mass Communication Research Center, Jamia Millia Islamia, Shankar Chandra cut his teeth as a cameraperson working with TV18 and worked on a wide variety of programmes including Automobiles, Lifestyles, Game shows and news to name a few. Fascinated by animals he realized he wanted to work with them. Miditech seemed to offer a solution, given the companies profile; he worked on documentaries for the UN and the National Geographic. Later he set up his own company and worked on a number of films on subjects such as traditional healers in a modern society, watershed management in Rajasthan and sex workers and their fight for self-determination. The latter was critically acclaimed at the International AIDS Conference 2002, held in Barcelona.