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The Hindu : Wildlife filmmakers and photographers Krupakar and Senani don’t need much of an introduction. The award-winning makers of the film “Wild Dog Diaries”, are much like the dhol they have studied for more than a decade, shy and elusive.

So when they attended the screening of their film at Aranyam 2007, RAKESH MEHAR jumped at the chance to catch a wonderful conversation.

(On Aranyam 2007 and other screenings)Senani: My most memorable screening of the film was at Mysore. Our friends are basically interested in literature. So we assumed that they didn’t have much of a connect with wildlife. The idea of screening a purely wildlife oriented film, that too about wild dogs, didn’t even occur to us. But our friends saw the film and decided that the rest of Mysore should see it. The people’s responses were very emotional, the questions very intimate. That small town atmosphere really works. Krupakar: I’ve generally seen that when it comes to any sort of cultural event, Bangaloreans make excuses. They aren’t as encouraging. In Mysore people act like it’s their own event.Senani: You can’t criticise these boys (organisers of Aranyam), though.Krupakar: That is why we came for the festival, because it was being organised by youngsters. It is very important for us to encourage them. (On the feelings associated with the first close contact with the wild dog pack)Krupakar: When we started off, if we stood even 600 metres away, the dogs would vanish. That was how our first sightings were. The story of how we developed contact is actually very big. What we show in the film is only one small part.Senani: In the film we have to show everything in forty-five minutes. So everything happens really quickly. In reality, it all happens very slowly. So slowly that you do not realise when it happens. Krupakar: We don’t believe that patience is what you need to be a wildlife…More