Priyanka Chopra has turned narrator for the new Disneynature film, Tiger. Releasing on the occasion of World Earth Day on Disney+ Hotstar, the docu-film is made by seasoned wildlife filmmakers Mark Linfield along with Vanessa Berlowitz and Rob Sullivan, and producers Linfield, Berlowitz and Roy Conli. Ahead of the project’s release, Mark Linfield and Vanessa Berlowitz sat down for an exclusive chat with News18 and spoke about the docu-film, Priyanka and India.
They revealed that from the inception of the project, they had only one choice for the narrator — Priyanka Chopra. “She was our first and only choice so we were quite relieved when she said yes because there was no plan B," Mark said. “She is phenomenal, she’s famous in India and it was really important to us to get someone who could connect with the Indian audiences. This is who we’ve made the film for as much as anyone else but she is also famous internationally, she’s a brilliant actress, she loves Tigers and is also a mum. She really, really connected with Amber’s story and I think that brought some warmth and humour to the storytelling," Vanessa added.
Asked if Priyanka has shared her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Malti’s reaction to the film, the duo admitted they haven’t got a chance to catch up with Priyanka about it but they are confident that she might have shown the film to the little one. “She kept saying her daughter would absolutely love it. I am not sure if she’s shown it to her yet. Probably she has. But Priyanka loves the film," Mark said.
Set in the Indian forests, Tiger explores the lives of majestic animal in the wild. The docu-film is shot beautifully, encapsulating not only the life of a tiger but also the impact of a tiger in a forest. Mark revealed that they spent about six years on the project. “From inception to delivery, it was over six years. We spent almost five of that coming and going to India to film it," he said.
Applauding India’s effort of conservation movement initiated to save tigers in India, Mark added that the documentary is aimed to celebrate India’s success story. “Hopefully, you feel it is a worthwhile celebration of your tigers and Indian forests because that was always our intention. Tigers in India is the most amazing conversation success story. From having only 1,411 (estimate) in 2006, you’ve gone over 3,682 (approx) now, the whole forest department and country is proud of that. There aren’t many conversation success stories now in the world now," he added.
Tiger puts India’s breathtaking forests on full display. Vanessa said that they explored the wild extensively, especially in the regions of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, to truly cover the essences of the tigers in the wild. “I have filmed in lots of parts of India. I worked on a big series called Land of the Tiger (1997) for the BBC many years ago so what we were able to do (with Tiger), we could draw in all of the best reserves. There were several in Madhya Pradesh and we also filmed in Ranthambore so that we could bring in the best of these forests. We’ve got fantastic characters that show the richness of the Indian landscape," she said.
Tiger releases on April 22, on Disney+ Hotstar.
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