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ENTERTAINMENT EYE FEBRUARY 23, 2024 | The Indian Eye 38

Poacher: Coming soon on OTT,

a unique series based on real-life

events and characters

“It’s story about people fighting for our future”: Director Richie Mehta on ‘Poacher’

OUR BUREAU
New Delhi/Mumbai
he US Embassy organized a preview screen-
ing of the first episode of the Amazon Orig-
Tinal series Poacher, an investigative crime
series that unearths the largest ivory poaching ring
in Indian history. The US Embassy informed in
an official press release, “This series is based on a
real investigation led by Indian forest officials, the
Indian Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, and a lo-
cal NGO, the Wildlife Trust of India, which is the
recipient of U.S. Department of State Bureau of
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Af-
fairs (INL) and United States Fish and Wildlife
Service grants.”
The US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti,
introduced the event with remarks on combatting
illegal wildlife trafficking, in addition to engaging
with Indian forest officials and civil society experts.
In a post on X, U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti
shares that the American Center in New Delhi had
an exclusive preview of “Poacher,” a series stream-
ing on Prime Video India. The series delves into
the true story behind India’s largest illegal ivory
seizure, led by the Ministry of Environment, For-
est and Climate Change (MoEFCC), the Wildlife Bollywood actors Roshan Mathews, Dibyendu Bhattacharya with producer and actress Alia Bhatt and Richie Mehta pose for a
Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), and the Wildlife
Trust of India (WTI). photo during the trailer launch of Amazon prime video series ‘Poacher’ in Mumbai on Thursday (ANI)
‘Poacher’ is produced by Oscar-winning pro-
duction company QC Entertainment and created, hunter for a father. There were a few people who anthropogenic argument. It’s about giving them
written, and directed by Emmy Award-winning Mala is based on. And they carried this baggage, the space and standing back, not going to see ele-
filmmaker Richie Mehta, with Alia Bhatt as Exec- that at some point my family was responsible for phants, letting them be.”
utive Producer of the series. destroying a lot of the charismatic species in this The trailer provides a glimpse into the heart-
In an interview, Richie Mehta said, “It is about jungle, and now I need to make up for this.” breaking reality of the merciless and incessant kill-
wildlife crime fighters in India, a story about peo- The series follows a diverse group of wildlife ing of elephants.
ple fighting for our future. Young people are moti- custodians comprising forest crime fighters, police Nimisha Sajayan said, “I met the real Mala,
vated to do everything they can in their power and personnel, and good Samaritans, in their relentless you know, it’s based on a real person. I met him
more to save what they believe is the planet. These quest to expose the largest ivory poaching ring in for like two hours something and I think it’s impos-
wildlife crime fighters are trying to save the entire Indian history. sible to know a person in two hours. So I just asked
ecosystem. It’s inspired by a true story, the largest Based on true events, ‘Poacher’ sheds light on him a question how do you feel when you get to
elephant poaching case in the history of India, and the consequences of human actions driven by per- know about these poaching cases he just said, just
how these people came together and figured out, sonal gain and greed, emphasizing the potential imagine something very close to your heart is tak-
with very little support, how to navigate this.” risks and endangering these species. en away and your home gets robbed, how would
Makers of the upcoming crime series ‘Poach- Richie Mehta added, “A lot of the species you react? So, it’s like the jungle is my home and
er’ unveiled its official trailer on Thursday. we’re talking about would benefit immensely from elephants, they are poaching my elephants. So,
Director Richie Mehta said, “The short teaser our absence. So it’s not about what is our relation- that reply just made me understand who the char-
is just giving you an idea of the importance of this ship with them. It’s our relationship should be the acter is. How emotionally committed the character
crime that we have to be equating the life of an el- preservation of their ecosystem and then stand is to the jungle.”
ephant, same to the life of a person, because that is back and give them the space that they need be- ‘Poacher’ is all set to stream on the OTT plat-
the weight that we have to start considering these cause what that ecosystem is doing for us as human form Amazon Prime Video from February 23 in
things. Mala’s character is a poacher, a historical beings is immeasurable. That’s the narcissistic, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi.

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