NE EDUTAINMENT BUREAU
CHENNAI, SEPT 4
A state. Five landscapes. One extraordinary wilderness. What happens when an entire State becomes the protagonist of a wildlife film? The answer is Wild Tamil Nadu—a four-year labour of cinematic love that ventures beyond the familiar postcard images of Tamil Nadu to reveal an astonishing world of mountains, forests, croplands, coastlines, coral reefs and arid landscapes, where every ecosystem shelters its own stories of survival.
- Five landscapes, countless life forms and four years of relentless filming converge in a cinematic celebration of Tamil Nadu’s extraordinary ecological wealth
- PVR Cinemas to distribute the one-hour wildlife documentary across multiple multiplexes nationwide from September 7
- Sundram Fasteners’ CSR initiative with Nature inFocus and Tamil Nadu Forest Department turns conservation into a compelling cinematic experience
- From elephants and leopards to lion-tailed macaques, fireflies and the elusive Madras hedgehog, the film reveals nature beyond the familiar
- Ricky Kej’s Grammy-winning soundscape and Arvind Swamy’s narration add music and voice to Tamil Nadu’s wilderness
The wildlife documentary celebrating Tamil Nadu’s extraordinary biodiversity is set to reach the big screen through PVR Cinemas across numerous multiplex locations in the country from September 7, 2026, offering audiences an immersive encounter with the State’s natural heritage on a scale that television and digital screens cannot quite replicate.
Produced as a CSR initiative of Sundram Fasteners Ltd., in collaboration with Nature inFocus and with the support of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, Wild Tamil Nadu brings together four years of painstaking footage captured across the State by a dedicated team of South Indian wildlife cameramen.
From Sangam landscapes to living ecosystems
What makes the documentary particularly distinctive is its conceptual bridge between ancient Tamil literary imagination and contemporary wildlife filmmaking.
Drawing inspiration from the five classical landscapes celebrated in Sangam literature, the film journeys through Kurinji (mountains), Mullai (forests), Marutham (croplands), Neithal (coasts) and Palai (arid zones)—showing how dramatically different habitats coexist within Tamil Nadu and sustain an extraordinary spectrum of life.
The camera turns its gaze not merely towards the celebrated giants of the wild, but also towards the creatures that often remain invisible to the public eye.
Elephants and leopards share the frame with the lion-tailed macaque, fireflies and the elusive Madras hedgehog, transforming the film into an invitation to discover the lesser-seen dimensions of Tamil Nadu’s biodiversity.
Four years behind the lens
Behind the one-hour cinematic experience lies four years of fieldwork, patience and persistence.
Across mountains, forests, agricultural landscapes, wetlands, coastlines, coral reefs and drylands, the filmmaking team has assembled footage that seeks to portray Tamil Nadu not as a collection of isolated habitats, but as a living ecological continuum.
The result is a visual journey in which landscape and wildlife are inseparable—where the survival of one species is intertwined with the health of an entire ecosystem.
When conservation finds a cinematic voice
The film’s emotional and auditory landscape receives an equally distinguished treatment.
Three-time Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej has composed the soundtrack, weaving Carnatic musical traditions with orchestral arrangements to create a soundscape designed to complement the vastness and intimacy of the natural world.
Adding another layer to the experience, acclaimed actor Arvind Swamy lends his voice as narrator, guiding audiences through the diverse ecological worlds unfolding on screen.
Sundram Fasteners: Making natural heritage everybody’s story
Explaining the larger purpose behind the initiative, Arathi Krishna, Managing Director, Sundram Fasteners Ltd., said:
“At Sundram Fasteners, we are proud to support initiatives that celebrate and safeguard our natural heritage. Wild Tamil Nadu captures the richness of Tamil Nadu’s wilderness and the remarkable biodiversity that exists across its landscapes. By taking the film to audiences through PVR cinemas, we hope to make these stories more accessible and inspire a deeper appreciation of the natural world and the need to protect it.”
The theatrical distribution therefore becomes more than a release strategy. It seeks to transform wildlife from a distant spectacle into a shared public experience—and, ultimately, into a conversation about conservation.
Kalyan Varma puts Tamil Nadu’s wilderness on the cinematic map
Directed by Kalyan Varma, the documentary draws on years of on-ground filming to present the State’s natural heritage through a cinematic lens.
The PVR release marks a significant new chapter in Wild Tamil Nadu’s journey, taking its imagery and conservation message beyond specialist wildlife audiences and into mainstream cinema spaces across multiple markets.
At a time when biodiversity faces mounting pressures from habitat change, climate variability and expanding human activity, the film offers a simple but powerful proposition: people are more likely to protect what they know, understand and learn to value.
And Wild Tamil Nadu wants audiences to look again.
- To look beyond the elephant.
- Beyond the leopard.
- Beyond the forest.
- And see Tamil Nadu itself as one vast, interconnected theatre of life.
