The floral diversity of the region has rarely been captured in the audio-visual media. Though a few presentations have delved into the issue, fewer have reached aesthetic excellence. The 30-minute-long film, The Wild Beauty, produced by Mukul Talukdar for Doordarshan Kendra, Guwahati, is one of the few presentations that deserves special mention.
Talukdar, also the director and scriptwriter of the film, has chosen the wonderful land of Arunachal Pradesh to shoot the beautiful orchids.
Arunachal Pradesh is a natural home of about 500 species of orchids found in various weather conditions ? from the warm and humid foothills to the snow-covered peaks spread over a vast area of 83,743 square km. The entire area is climatically suited for growing a variety of orchids.
The film begins with long wide-angle shots of lofty hills and riverbeds. As the narrator describes the orchid scenario, shots of waterfalls and a girl performing a classical dance zoom in, presenting metaphorical depiction of the shape of the orchids. The well-researched information about the orchids has been tastefully complimented by the dance and haunting music.
The narrator explains how the emphasis has been laid on projects to develop cymbidium orchid farms through the jhumming process involving the local tribal farmers, thereby opening up avenues before them to earn their livelihood and transferring technology from the laboratory to the field in the process. This interesting style has been maintained throughout the film.
The film also highlights various types of orchids grown in various climatic zones ?from rain forests of the foothills to the sub-tropical and alpine regions of Arunachal Pradesh. Moreover, equal stress has been laid on the commercial value of the orchids and the significance of the endangered species. In this context, the director apprises the viewers of the role and function of orchid research centres in Tipi in West Kameng district and in the state capital of Itanagar. The programme also provides information on the projects taken up by the research centres to produce hybrid orchids.
In spite the scientific information, including the botanical names of over 100 orchids shown in the film, The Wild Beauty stands apart from the average technical documentary.
This is because the film tends to throw serious insight into the bond between the orchids and the cultural life of the people of Arunachal Pradesh.
No wonder the film won a national award instituted by Doordarshan for its in-house productions.
Besides Talukdar, a post-graduate from Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, and currently working as a senior officer in Doordarshan Kendra, the other film unit members are Sisir Dixit, K.T. Rao (cameramen), Om Prakash (audiographer), Subrajit Chakravarty (editor), Chandan Baishya, Bishwa Das (both production assistants), Bhanu Sarma (costume designer) and B.V. Rao (make-up artist). Mayuri Riba, daughter of a noted socio-political personality of Arunachal Pradesh, performed the classical dance for the film.