Private Project

Namma Aranya Pradesha

This story is set in 2015, when a group of children join a Summer Theatre Workshop. Shocked by learning about man-made disasters and the impact of our actions on the environment; the children want to do more than just stage a play on the environment. They decide to start a Seed Club and create a forest in the middle of the city.

With bare minimum resources available; they start a business selling lemonade to fund their work. In due course, they encounter various challenges which they need to overcome. They decide to write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to join their Seed Club and give a speech for them in his radio show so more children can join them.

Growing up can be challenging; finding real friends who can support your dreams and become part of the adventure can be even harder. Will the children overcome their difficulties and start a forest in the middle of the city? Will the Prime Minister read their letters in his radio show and support them?

"Namma Aranya Pradesha" (Our Forest World) is a story about children's relation with the environment. It is a documentation of courage, resilience and race against time to save Planet Earth, one plant at a time.

  • Puja Goyal
    Director
  • Puja Goyal
    Writer
  • Puja Goyal
    Producer
  • Dhatri Jagadeesh Shetty
    Key Cast
    "Dhatri"
  • Erin Deborah Vidyasagar
    Key Cast
    "Erin"
  • Freya Cooper
    Key Cast
    "Freya"
  • Kenisha Rao
    Key Cast
    "Kenisha"
  • Raghunandan Prasad
    Key Cast
    "Chotu"
  • Rikhil K Ksheersagar
    Key Cast
    "Rikhil"
  • Tanika Jain
    Key Cast
    "Tanika"
  • Trista Cooper
    Key Cast
    "Trista"
  • Tushar Patil
    Key Cast
    "Tushar, Mr. Bean"
  • Anantha Padmanabha Prasad
    Key Cast
    "Anandu"
  • Pranav Sridhar
    Key Cast
    "Tushar"
    Shani, Naagini 2, Sharapanjara, Kenda
  • Kiren Jhadav
    Cinematography
  • Sebastian Sathish
    Music
    Dear Comrade, Meenakshi Sundhareshwar, Radheshyam, Adutha Sattai, FIR (Tamil), Naam (Malaysian), Kadhal Distancing, Mom and Me
  • Pradeep G
    Sound Designer
    The Ghost, Mysore Diaries, Gaalivaana, Home Minister, Instant Karma, Bloody Mary, U Turn 2, The American Dream, Konda Polam, Dear Megha, Paagal, Kaliveera, Malgudi Days, Ranganayaki, Premier Padmini, Aa Karaala Ratri, Anjaniputra, Urvi, Uppi 2
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    ನಮ್ಮ ಅರಣ್ಯ ಪ್ರದೇಶಾ
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Feature, Other
  • Genres:
    Children, Experimental, Environment
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 33 minutes 2 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 28, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    96,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    Kannada
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Puja Goyal

Puja Goyal is a Writer, Filmmaker and Voice Actor based in Bangalore.
She started DreamScope Theatre, a Theatre Production Company in 2003 with William Mastrosimone's "Bang Bang You’re Dead" and has directed and produced popular Stage Productions like Extremities, Afghan Women and Forest. She has previously worked as a Radio Jockey for All India Radio for 15 years and has written move than 500 articles as a Feature Writer for newspapers and magazines like Vijay Times, Deccan Herald, Times of India and Bangalore Mirror, with a Post Graduate Degree in Intellectual Property Rights Law.

Her current engagements include working as a full - time Children's Writer and Director, promoting “Namma Aranya Pradesha", working to sensitising children in living sustainably and compassion towards animals; and running Mishka Studio (India), a post production studio to assist Independent Filmmakers. She is presently studying Masters in Political Science with core interests in War, Conflict and Resolution in Peace Building in International Relations.

With "Namma Aranya Pradesha" (Our Forest World) Puja Goyal debut's as a Screen Writer, Film Director and Producer.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Why NAMMA ARANYA PRADESHA?

When the last sparrow stop singing and the last bees stop humming near the flowers, we would have come to a point where nothing will exist. We will be the next dodo's who will be the cause of our own extinction. It is time to make sustainable choices; not only in speech but also in action. What we do and the decisions we take today will impact the next seven generations. I strongly believe that we don't own this planet, we have been made custodian of this planet by our ancestors and need to handover this planet to our coming generations in its best condition. We are passerby's, travellers, here for a brief moment.

"Namma Aranya Pradesha" was curated in 2015 from a short story I had written when I was a child. It was when we were travelling in train and my father told me that there will come a time when water will be sold in bottles. I didn't understand it then; Who sells water? It is supposed to be free for every living species like air, isn't it? Yet, now we carry water in bottles, and maybe tomorrow we will be carrying oxygen in containers.

"Namma Aranya Pradesha" (Our Forest World) aims to bring to light, the importance of planting trees, starting mini-forests in our backyards, creating homes for animals and birds, and imbibing an empathetic view for all living beings. As a child I never understood why, even after knowing the consequences of our actions, we still took them. It is manifested in the children of the movie struggling to understand why we take these decisions when we know what is going to happen. They question where the animals will go? And even make a plea requesting for the animals and birds to be allowed to have a home in the forest, and don't go extinct just because we couldn't take care of them. While the natural disasters cannot be avoided; we can minimise and negate our impact on the environment by taking empathetic actions.

Our Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been encouraging everyone in India to work towards a cleaner and more sustainable country through campaigns like "Swachch Bharat" and emphasising that we should preserve our, plants, animals forests and its species for future generations. India's ancient practices with regard to preservation and sustainability have several remedies which can help the world to find solutions for rightful living which our Prime Minister reiterates. I was further inspired by our Prime Minister's speech on 5th April, 2015 to make this movie and ensure that our voiceless friends find a platform and identity with World Leaders. It is crucial that the World Leaders encourage programs and activities on a war-footing at a grass root level in schools and colleges to find workable and rewarding solutions.