Turtle Walker Documentary Review | Anupama Chopra | THR India

Anupama Chopra reviews Turtle Walker, a documentary directed by Taira Malaney about Satish Bhaskar, the pioneer of turtle conservation in India who passed away in 2023. Anupama highlights the extraordinary scope of Satish's life — from surveying over 4000 kilometers of Indian coastline between 1977 and 1996, to living alone on an island in Lakshadweep studying turtles, where he sent letters to his wife Brenda in bottles cast into the sea. She notes that the documentary uses interviews Taira conducted with Satish in 2018 alongside dramatized recreations with actor Rohan Joglekar, a choice that produces mixed results as the line between fiction and non-fiction becomes too porous. Despite this foundational tension, Anupama finds that the sheer wonder and courage of Satish's story overcomes it. She praises the stunning visuals created by Taira and DOP Krish Makhija, including aerial shots and wondrous moments of turtles laying eggs, while wishing the film had given more space to Brenda's perspective. Co-produced by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti's Tiger Baby, with award-winning My Octopus Teacher co-director James Reed as executive producer, Turtle Walker is not yet on a streaming platform but is being shown at impact screenings across India. Anupama recommends catching it if it plays near you. #TurtleWalker #TurtleWalkerReview #THRIndia