NILA MADHAB PANDA - FILMMAKER

Few storytellers bring dramatic despair of ecological loss to the big screen like Nila Madhab Panda. The national-award winning filmmaker often makes nature his central character, be it in his 2017 film Kadvi Hawa or in the 2023 web series The Jengaburu Curse.

- Preetha Banerjee

Raised in rural Odisha, Panda’s storytelling is grounded in lived experiences with climate change, water scarcity, child rights and environmental justice. In an interview with Preetha Banerjee, Panda explains why the environment remains his constant source of inspiration:

Your films reflect a conscious choice, centering around environmental and social issues. What draws you to these subjects?

My world of cinema has been shaped by my own personal growth. I spent the first 10-11 years of my life in a village where life was basic. There were no motorable roads, airports or railways. I was almost 12 when I first smelled diesel or petrol. The ecology was untouched. Over the course of 20 or 30 years, I watched the world transform into the fast-paced, car-packed cities we live in today.

In 2005, I came across a photograph of Satabhaya’s lone hand pump in