Screening of ‘Macchli’ at JKK tomorrow

Jaipur: A special screening of the 60-minute film ‘Macchli’ will be held at Jawahar Kala Kendra in the city at 6 pm on Thursday. Wildlife filmmaker S Nallamuthu spent about nine years capturing Macchli, also called the ‘Queen Mother of Tigers’ for her role in repopulating Ranthambore with tigers, for this film. It will be telecast across India on National Geographic at 8 pm on February 26.Macchli got her name from the mark on her forehead that resembled a fish.On Thursday, state forest minister Gajendra Singh will attend the screening as chief guest. Prabha Khaitan Foundation and We Care are co-organizing this event. The tigress died of age-related ailments in August 2016, when she was about 20 years old.
Nallamuthu says one way to encourage conservation is to depict tigers in the wild, as sentient, mindful beings. The filmmaker shot 400 hours of footage in Ranthambore, observing Macchli and her interaction with other tigers. Nallamuthu has previously worked with ISRO and the ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The 53-year-old now has his own Delhi-based filmmaking unit, Greyfilms.