Movie unit packs up as forest department stops shooting in Talakaveri sanctuary in Karnataka

BENGALURU: The Karnataka forest department on Friday ordered a stop to the ongoing film shooting inside Talakaveri Wildlife Sanctuary. A movie team from Kerala was camping in the sanctuary since Thursday morning, for a three-day shoot. The order comes a day after The New Indian Express published a story on the opposition by wildlife experts for allowing shooting of a commercial film, Nalpathionnu, inside a Protected Area (PA) at the time when public entry is banned due to the fire season.

A forest official from Talakaveri division confirmed that shooting was stopped at 1.30pm Friday due to public pressure. “Moreover, the weather was not very suitable for shooting in the past two days, as it was raining. Also, pressure from different quarters started mounting, so the team left the sanctuary by Friday afternoon,” the official said.

The officials also pointed out that the department had reduced the requested permission for shooting from five days to three days, keeping the safety of the forest in mind. “But as public pressure mounted, a decision was taken to stop the shooting,” he added. Permission for shooting was given in Mulamotte area of the sanctuary and on the second day, the film crew had hired a local earthmoving machine for the shoot. Wildlifers are now calling for a complete ban on commercial shooting inside sanctuaries in Karnataka.

“There are a number of beautiful locations in Karnataka which can be opened up for shooting. Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, Uttara Kannada and Shivamogga have locations which are outside any tiger sanctuaries and can be made used for film shootings. The Karnataka government or tourism department must facilitate film makers on these lines,” suggested Danial Sukumar, a wildlife expert.