Call of the wild

The Cannes party awaits Ashvin Kumar’s debut feature film

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ashvin Kumar is off on another trip,this time to the Cannes Film Festival with his debut feature film The Forest. Kumar had conceived this project,with wildlife and conservation at its core,nearly four years ago. The film has Ankur Vikal in the lead with Nandana Dev Sen. They visit a jungle to sort out their troubled marriage. However,a bigger danger awaits them there. A leopard,wounded by poachers,is unable to hunt its prey and is compelled to feed on the weakest animal in the jungle — man. Despite award-winning short films on his resume,Kumar,who has also written the script,was clear about not using the documentary format to talk about conservation of wildlife. “I wanted to take the message far,” says the filmmaker about his decision to make a feature film. This is also the reason,he decided to introduce human characters who disrespect each other in the film.