Acclaimed wildlife photographer and filmmaker Sandesh Kadur is known for bringing India’s wild frontiers to life on screen. With a career that spans decades and collaborations with global giants like National Geographic and the BBC, his latest work — a feature-length documentary on the Nilgiris — Nilgiris: A Shared Wilderness, that finally releases in theatres today, promises to offer an immersive experience into one of India’s oldest and most ecologically rich landscapes.
Presented by Felis Films and Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, the film has now already won awards at Cannes World Film Festival, Ankara International Wildlife Film Festival, WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, Nature Without Borders International Film Festival and Santiago Wild Film Festival. We caught up with Sandesh to talk about this deeply personal project, his unique filmmaking journey and what continues to inspire him in the wild.
Tell us about your latest project — why the Nilgiris and how did the idea take shape?
We began this journey nearly three years ago. It’s been an immense effort to shine a light on a region that’s both familiar and yet, in many ways, overlooked. The Nilgiris is one of Asia’s most studied ecosystems — and still, not a single full-length documentary had been made on it. It all began during a walk in Coonoor with Rohini Nilekani. She asked, “Is there anything we can watch about the Nilgiris?” And honestly, I couldn’t think of a single educational documentary on India’s first biosphere reserve. That was the spark. We decided to create one ourselves. What started as a 30-minute film eventually grew into a 75-minute feature — a fully immersive experience that captures the soul of this landscape.
What did you choose to focus on and what did you consciously leave out?
That was one of the toughest parts. What you leave out is just as critical as what you include. We made some tough calls early on. The central idea we wanted to convey was that of a shared wilderness — where humans and animals coexist in a delicate, sometimes tense, but necessary balance. Roughly 80–90 percent of the Nilgiris has been transformed by human use — there are reservoirs, roads and sprawling tea estates. At first glance, you might wonder if any wild animals remain. But look closely, and you’ll find gaur (the world’s largest bovine), leopards, black panthers, sambhar deer, barking deer — all quietly sharing space with people. It’s the tolerance of local communities that makes this coexistence possible. Tea estate workers come in, animals move away. As soon as they leave, the animals return. It’s an elegant ebb and flow. What we tried to show in the film is that the divide between human and wild isn’t as stark as we think.
You’ve had quite a unique journey into filmmaking. Tell us a bit about your background?
I’m from Bengaluru. To be honest, I had a rather uninspiring academic track record — I failed my second PUC and was ‘exiled’ to the other side of the world, which turned out to be the best thing for me. That’s where I discovered filmmaking. I returned to India and made my first documentary on the Western Ghats, titled Mountains of the Monsoon. That eventually became a coffee table book, which was launched by then prime minister Manmohan Singh and president Abdul Kalam. The book later evolved into a documentary for the BBC, also called Mountains of the Monsoon — it followed my search for a mythical cat in the Western Ghats and, in many ways, launched my professional career. Since then, I’ve worked on several major documentaries — Secrets of the King Cobra in Agumbe, Secrets of Wild India (narrated by David Attenborough) and Return of the Clouded Leopard — a project that had me working across the eastern Himalayas for five years. Most recently, we completed Wild Cats of India for National Geographic and three episodes are now available on YouTube. I’ve also contributed to several renowned shows like Planet Earth II and One Planet.
More stills and behind-the-scenes stills below:
What are you working on next? What can fans look forward to?
Right now, we’re working on a new project in Arunachal Pradesh, exploring the Siang Valley — home to one of the world’s deepest gorges. We’ve just completed a scientific expedition, once again supported by National Geographic, retracing the path of a British expedition from over 100 years ago.
Nilgiris: A Shared Wilderness is now in theatres.
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