India's Answer to Bear Grylls

From being chased down by angry elephants in Midnapore to almost getting mauled by a lion lurking nearby in the thick jungles of Tanzania, this man has done it all. An ace wildlife filmmaker whose work has been so influential that it made the government put a ban on cruel human activities. He’s also a three-time Green Oscar winner. Let's learn about the man's journey who's been chasing nature's story for decades.

Mike Pandey; Source: Riverbank Studios

Imagine the backyard of your house is a national park. You see the long necks of giraffes from your bedroom window and often the roars of lions wake you up in the night. Sometimes the brinjals in your mother’s kitchen garden get raided by the elephants. It might sound like a modern-day rendition of The Jungle Book, but in reality, this was the childhood of wildlife filmmaker Mike Pandey.

A three-time Green Oscar winner along with some other 300 awards, Mike Pandey’s powerful films focus on spreading awareness about the protection of nature and species conservation. The man means serious business as his films have made the government bring legislative changes to protect wildlife in India.

Mike Pandey’s 1994 film, The Last Migration: Wild Elephant Capture in Surguja, made him the first Asian to win the prestigious Wildscreen Panda Award, also known as the Green Oscar. The film depicts how the elephants are victims of man’s greed for resources, mainly food and land. It also shows how they are often considered 'rogue' animals, especially when they cross through villages, and as a result, are shot down. The subject matter of the film – which was aired on Doordarshan National – eventually helped in slowing down the decline of the elephant population in India. Its sequel Vanishing Giants (2004), led the government to put a ban on some age-old techniques of elephant capture which resulted in the animal's death. This compelling film also won a Green Oscar, his third.

In the late 1990s, Mike spent three years on the Gujarat coastline, making a film about how the whale sharks of the region are trapped and massacred. Shores of Silence: Whale Sharks in India (2000) got him his second Green Oscar and also led to a ban on the killing of whale sharks. With a career spanning several decades, he has produced over 600 films and won many esteemed national and international awards. He also founded Riverbank Studios in New Delhi in 1973 which focuses on awareness-generating content.

Born in Nigeria as Hari Pandey, his connection with the wild developed early. The Nairobi National Park was located in close proximity to the house he grew up in and his father would often take Mike and his brother Ishwar to the jungle. In one of his later interviews, Mike recalls a childhood memory where he 'witnessed two silverback gorillas fighting and tearing at each other'.

Just like the seeds of wildlife fascination were sowed early, his affair with the lens also began in childhood. Mike and Ishwar would often go to the jungle armed with a box Brownie camera – a gift from an uncle – capturing whatever caught their fancy. These early trips were his initial lessons in wildlife filmmaking.

Up until then, he was known as Hari Pandey. But once in a school play, he played the character of a private detective called Mike Hammer and the name stuck with him like glue. After finishing school Mike was sent to Bristol by his father to pursue aeronautical engineering. During his time there, a feeling of angst would often envelop his free-spirited temperament. And one day he would leave the course and take a 10-day trip from England to India with his friends in an old Ford Zephyr.

Soon after the trip, he went to film school in London. Upon its completion, he spent time in Hollywood studying special effects. Followed by a brief stint with BBC’s natural history section. Around this time somewhere in Europe he met Rajiv Gandhi. He doesn’t remember the exact place but he remembers Mr. Gandhi asked him if he was Indian and he said yes. Rajiv Gandhi then put his arm around Mike’s shoulder and told him ‘Guys like you should be in India.’ This chance meeting had a massive impact on him.

Mike returned to India and initially did some work in the Hindi film industry. He was an assistant cinematographer in Razia Sultan (1983) where he handled the war sequences. He did another movie project where the special effects skills he learnt in the US helped him create a ghost scene for the film Ghazab (1982). Not long after his true calling would summon him back to the jungles.

Mike Pandey’s pathbreaking work began as soon as he was back in his home territory. He made prolific documentaries that have helped save whale sharks, vultures, elephants, horseshoe crabs and even medicinal plants. One of his widely popular shows, made to entertain and educate, was Earth Matters. It is a half-hour series of 26 episodes covering the wildlife of India. This show led to the emergence of many wildlife conservation groups in the country. It was first broadcasted on state-run Doordarshan National for 11 years and now can be watched on their Youtube channel.

His films have covered myriad animals and birds of various regions. Shores of Silence (1990) is about the mass killing of whales in the Andaman Islands. He worked as a wildlife consultant for Sahara with Michael Palin (1992) which explores the various regions of the Sahara Desert. The Marsh Pride (1993) showcases the life and behaviour of the Marsh Pride of lions in the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. The Timeless Traveler (2007) is about the challenges faced by Olive Ridley sea turtles. Broken Wings (2012) is a documentary that covers the issues of birds colliding with glass windows and explains the need for bird-friendly architecture. There is also a 13-part series, Explorer of the Mystery Mountains, exploring the rich biodiversity in Northeast India.

Using his craft to heal the wounds of nature, Mike has done a lot for the wildlife. He aims the future generations to do the same. In the 2012 Mumbai International Film Festival, he was awarded the V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award, another accolade to his many. He believes people should be educated enough about the environment due to the immense role it plays in our lives.

“Man is a small part of the intricate web of living beings- just a small strand. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself” says Mike.