For this year’s NYC Documentary Film Festival, I was delighted to watch the film Turtle Walker helmed by director Taira Malaney and Associate Director/Director of Photography Krish Makhija. The film is about Satish Bhaskar, India’s pioneering turtle conservationist who surveyed nearly 4,000 kilometers of coastline to develop research on sea turtle nesting patterns. Malaney first learned about Bhaskar through a chance encounter with his story while she spent a year learning how to dive in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a place Bhaskar had surveyed extensively during his career.

A series of alignments brought Malaney and Bhaskar together in Goa and ardent convincing by Malaney eventually led Bhaskar to agree to being filmed on screen for the doc. Turtle Walker details Bhaskar’s ups and downs while building his research across over 20 years of surveying. Shot stunningly on-site on various locations in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands situated between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea and Lakshwadeep off the coast of Kerala, the doc demonstrates Bhaskar’s sheer bravery while taking on this mission, sometimes being away in solitude on remote islands for up to five months at a time.

A particularly poignant segment shows Bhaskar succumbing to his loneliness on one of his site visits and writing a letter to his wife Brenda, whom he fondly called “Dodo,” placing it in a glass bottle and wading into a rip current to throw it in the water, somehow hoping that it will get to her through the channels of the ocean. 26 days later, it was found by a fisherman in Sri Lanka and sent to Dodo in India.

As much as this film seems as though it’s a story of an ordinary conservationist and scientist, Turtle Walker is truly a testament to Bhaskar’s passion for the sea turtle. A self-described introvert, Bhaskar recalled spending his childhood days near his mother’s home in Kerala, escaping to the sea which was less than one kilometer away. He was kept company by the presence of wildlife in his early days, a theme that endured throughout his life and an early seed that allowed him to move through the extraordinary journey captured by his documentary. 

The film’s cinematography is excellent, featuring stunning ocean views and highlighting the incredible flora, fauna and wildlife present amongst the great Indian islands in Andaman and Nicobar. Malaney chose to use a re-enactment of Bhaskar, played by Rohan Jogelekar, to showcase his early journeys throughout the oceanic world which was executed magnificently. The drone-work and the footage of turtle’s nesting was powerful, the sea views were breathtaking and the charm of the film’s subject and his wife made Turtle Walker a treat for the eyes.

A moment I particularly loved was one that featured a crucial ethical dilemma that Bhaskar faced at one of his island destinations. Due to his food ration being spoiled during his voyage, Bhaskar was left without anything to eat, thus leaving him with the painful decision to eat unhatched sea turtle eggs. The regret was evident in Bhaskar’s eyes as he recalled the harrowing tale, noting the event as a “great loss.” I loved the filmmaker’s decision to include this segment because it was an intentional choice to not ignore how challenging Bhaskar’s work truly was. I think the magic of the documentary is that it was able to highlight both Bhaskar and the turtles’ vulnerabilities alike, demonstrating their parallel journey to fight to conserve the future of the species in the subcontinent.

The film is also a wonderful portrayal of the value of community-oriented care which was embodied by all of the subjects featured in the film. Whether it was Bhaskar’s wife’s endless devotion and support for him while he completed his life’s mission or Bhaskar’s friendship with a fisherman who aided him in surveying the Andaman and Nicobar Islands purely out of a desire to help, Bhaskar’s journey of 4,000 kilometers was pushed forth by a larger sense of mission for those who encountered him and his story. The film finishes with a beautiful full-circle, an aged Bhaskar returning back to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands post the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami which altered coastlines forever. Bhaskar meets again with his fisherman friend and processes his acceptance of the fact that this would likely be his last time visiting his old stomping grounds, the beaches and islands that molded him into who he is.

The good news? The work Bhaskar started decades ago continues and is being completed based on his foundational research, his 20+ years in conservation not even slightly in vain. It gave me tremendous satisfaction to see someone so selflessly devoted to his task being so richly rewarded for his pioneering and ardent efforts, thus proving the age-old adage true: Slow and steady truly does win the race.

Total Rating: 4 1/2 Stars.

When I decided to go see Kalki 2898 AD, I was in the middle of eating tacos and scrolling on my BookMyShow app (not a paid plug) and saw a showing that wasn’t too far from my location in a reasonable timeframe. It was very much the opposite experience of those who have cleared their work schedules and planned days ahead to see the film which has recently crossed a staggering 1000 crores and, dare I say it, brought a little bit more life to the Indian moviegoing experience.

Since I ended up being 40 minutes late (those tacos were too good for me to rush), I missed the backstory and the historical significance of Ashwatthama’s (Amitabh Bachchan) character in the Mahabharata and his current goal in the film, which one of the core ethical arcs that Ashwin weaves together.

For those who are also equally uninformed, the film takes place during the end of Kal Yug (in 2898 AD), which is one of four ages or yugs in the Hindu calendar. Kal Yug is the age of moral and ethical deterioration of mankind which in this particular instance is theorized to end when Kalki, Vishnu’s 10th and final incarnation, is born. Kalki is expected to usher in an age of righteousness and spiritual and ethical purity known as Satya Yuga.

Ashwatthama, a great warrior who fought for the Kauravas during the Mahabharata, had attempted to kill Uttara’s unborn child in a quest to end the Pandava lineage for good after losing the battle. Krishna, furious that someone would target an unborn child, cursed Ashwatthama to a life lasting multiple millennia where he is forced to witness the decay of humanity in Kal Yug and declared that he could only be redeemed once he insured that Kalki is safely born into the world.

In contrast, the bad guys, a bunch of men dressed up in futuristic outfits in a now decrepit Kashi, extract serum from women’s wombs to elongate the life of a wrinkly, deformed and honestly creepy Kamal Hasan, which was not on my 2024 bingo card. Nag Ashwin take a bow! Deepika Paudkone’s character Sum-80/Sumathi is one such subject who is exploited for an extended period of time but eventually escapes with the aid of Shambala rebels who are committed to righteousness, with virtues in opposition to those in the Yaskin camp.

When Prabhas (Bhairava) finally makes his entry in the film with his supercar Bhuj, which is an excessively drawn-out, mediocre, almost 10+ minute intro that I honestly couldn’t wait to end, he’s shown fighting off fellow bounty hunters who are in pursuit of a now fugitive Sumathi. Prabhas’ dual personality is revealed later in the film and his designation as a good or a bad guy is unclear, which definitely makes me eager to see the next installation.

There were also some outstanding performances by supporting characters including a very fun cameo by a drop-dead gorgina Disha Patani whose extensive martial arts skills were used relatively well, iconic South Indian actor Shobhana who played the queen of Shambala to perfection and many surprise cameos in flashbacks and otherwise, including one by the legend S.S. Rajamouli himself. As a disclaimer, I would like to mention that my knowledge of South Indian actors is incredibly limited and therefore I might not have been able to pick up on the epic-ness of certain actors being featured in the film.

The movie ends on a great note with commentaries on the corruption hearts of mankind during the present Kal Yug, to showcase that redemption is worthy and possible through Ashwatthama’s journey to find and protect Kalki’s mother and to demonstrate to us what our future might look like as only rich and wealthy citizens with enough units, or currency, are allowed to have any access to nature in the film as Climate Change continues to worsen in current times.

Despite my belief that Deepika was underutilized (I wanted to hear her talk and honestly fight more), that Prabhas’ intro was excessively long and that the first half was terribly slow during some parts, I admire Ashwin’s determination to create a larger-than-life Pan-Indian film: a goal which I believe he attained.

From a content marketing perspective, I loved that Ashwin created an animated series on Prabhas’ character Bhairava and his AI-powered supercar Bhujji had their own special animated series entitled B&B on Amazon Prime that preceded the release of the film. This definitely gave me a strong sense of nostalgia and reminded me greatly of when big action films had video games or parallel content released as part of an integrated promotional strategy. I believe that such innovations and continual experimentation are one way to re-invent the way that Indians consume and ultimately interact with film media.

Watch Kalki if you’re eager to imagine a different future for large-budget Indian films, want to see Amitabh Bachchan’s continued electric acting prowess which brought numerous seeti bajao moments from Indian audiences and the fantastic technical work that made this larger-than-life and futuristic world believable and immersive.

Kalki 2898 AD Rating: 4.1 stars/5 stars.

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