The documentary "The Nilgiris: A Shared Wilderness" will premiere on National Geographic in India on June 5, 2025 [2].
The film highlights the intersection of human habitats and wildlife in India's blue mountains. By centering the narrative on a common backyard lizard, the production aims to shift the viewer's perspective on nature and conservation within shared spaces.
Filmmaker Sandesh Kadur created the project as a love letter to the Nilgiris region. The production transitioned from an original short documentary, which ran between 20 and 30 minutes [3], into a feature-length experience. The film is designed to showcase the biodiversity of the region through a lens that emphasizes the presence of wildlife in everyday environments.
Prior to its television debut, the documentary was scheduled for a nationwide theatrical release in 2025 [1]. The project features contributions from Kadur and interviewer Janaki Pande to bring the ecological narratives of the mountains to a broader audience.
The television premiere on National Geographic marks the final stage of the film's 2025 distribution cycle [2]. It follows the effort to document the Nilgiris as a shared wilderness where humans and animals coexist in the same geography.
“The star of this Nilgiris documentary is a lizard that lives in backyards”
The transition of this project from a 20-to-30-minute short to a feature-length documentary for National Geographic indicates a growing interest in 'micro-conservation' narratives. By focusing on a backyard lizard rather than rare megafauna, the film promotes the idea that ecological preservation begins with the wildlife immediately surrounding human settlements.
