JAADUI JUNGLE
2019 | Documentary Film | 34 minutes | Hindi & Nimadi
Credit : Director - Editor - Sound Designer
Filmed in and around the dry-deciduous forests of Barjhai Ghat in Central India, Jaadui Jungle (Magical Forest) has been made in collaboration with the children from the local village communities settled around these forests. It portrays the intimate relationship that children share with the forests while addressing the issue of rampant forest fires that have been threatening its very core.
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by Monish K. Das
At a time, when majority of documentary films tend to adopt an in your face polemical and in some ways a pedantic manner both in terms of dealing with the subject matter and cinematic form it is so refreshing to see a young documentary filmmaker do just the opposite.
Archana Chandrasekhar's 34 minute documentary, 'Jadui Jangal' (Magical Forest) - screened at the 7th Kolkata People's Film Festival - takes a very uncluttered and contemplative look at the relationship between the tribal people and the jungle - the environment in which they live and survive - the beauty and the fragility of the forest ecosystem and also the threats posed by forest fires which are in a way the sign and proof of 'development'. The magic of the forests come palpably alive through the documentation of the lives of a group of children but the children are never treated as 'children' with all its negative and hierarchical connotations.
Empathetic without being patronizing, sensitive and troubling without being simplistic and overtly disturbing, the documentary is open to interpretation and understanding. Also refreshing is the wonderful use of extreme long shots and long shots that capture the pristine beauty of the forests and its flora and fauna without falling into the 'glamour trap' set and legitimized by NatGeo and Discovery channels. The visual poetry is backed up editing which leaves space and time for the audience to 'think' and a magical yet underplayed sound track/design, 'Jadui Jangal' is a documentary that appeals both to the heart and the mind.
Archana Chandrasekhar and the team at SPS Community Media take a bow! Thanks and kudos!"