Project 35 Trees: A documentary film on planting saplings

They plan to take the film to various schools and colleges around the country to inspire many more like them.

When advertising professional Hari Chakyar and filmmaker Anthony Karbhari reached Agra on the day of Diwali two years ago, they decided to do a recce in a rickshaw to find places around the city to plant a sapling. “As we were discussing this, our rickshaw driver turned around and said we could plant a tree in his house and he would take care of it,” says Chakyar.

After setting up a crowd-funding platform, the duo visited 28 states and 7 Union Territories for Project 35, over four months starting from October 2012 . Conceived by Chakyar, the initiative involved travelling the length and breadth of the country, telling students about the environment and planting trees with them.

Last month, a 55-second teaser of Project 35 Trees was released, which begins with a news anchor talking about their journey. As a narrator speaks in chaste Hindi, two clay figures, Changu and Mangu, bob up at the Taj Mahal and various other places visited by the duo. The footage weaves in and out of classrooms, trains and streets, with school children planting and watering their saplings.

They plan to take the film to various schools and colleges around the country to inspire many more like them.