Eco-Preservation of Wildlife in Indian Cinema: A Review of Sherni

Authors

Abstract

A review of the Indian film Sherni (2021) that narrates the story of the tigress T12, who is haunted after being accused of killing several villagers in the area. While Vidya, a female forest officer, works to ensure that the tigress can be saved, other politicians attempt to hunt her for their benefit. This review discusses the film's eco-preservation theme and the human-wildlife conflicts it portrays, as well as the challenges that female workers face in their jobs, especially in male-dominated fields. 

Keywords

environment, conservation, gender, animal rights, Indian cinema

References

MASURKAR, AMIT V. dir. (2021). Sherni. T-Series and Abundantia Entertainment.

CHAPMAN, TERRI & VIDISHA MISHRA (2019). “Rewriting the Rules: Women and Work in India”. Observer Research Foundation Special Report, Nº 80:1-8.

GADGIL, MADHAV & RAMACHANDRA GUHA (1995). “Passing on the Costs”. Ecology and Equity: The Use and Abuse of Nature in Contemporary India. Routledge: 34-61.

KHAN, ARMAN (2022). “Inside the Heartbreaking and Controversial Hunt for a Tigress Who Allegedly Killed 13 People”. VICE, 14 July. https://www.vice.com/en/article/hunt-for-maneating-tiger-avni-wildlife-conservation-india/

NANDI, SIFFER (2024). “Understanding Human-Wildlife Conflict in India.” Wildlife SOS. 21November. https://wildlifesos.org/understanding-human-wildlife-conflict-in-india/

NYHUS, PHILIP J. (2016). “Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence”. Annual Review of Environmental Resources, Vol 41: 143-171.

SEN, AMRITA (2022). “Introduction”. A Political Ecology of Forest Conservation in India: Communities, Wildlife and the State. Routledge: 1-22.

VANAK, ABI T. (2021). “A Scientist’s Review: Sherni is a Tale of Conservation in the Rough.” Science The Wire. 25 June. https://science.thewire.in/environment/sherni-review-conservation-avni-tigress-wildlife-science-forests-realistic-portrayal/

Author Biography

Ikram Rouam El Khatab, UAB

Ikram Rouam EL Khatab is a former Master's student at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She has written her master's thesis on the influence of gendered narrators in the representation of mental illness in the texts Girl, Interrupted and The Virgin Suicides. Her research interests include literary analysis, feminist and narratology theory, and North American literature. She also enjoys writing fictional stories.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/indialogs.344

Published

2025-10-19

How to Cite

Rouam El Khatab, I. (2025). Eco-Preservation of Wildlife in Indian Cinema: A Review of Sherni. Indialogs, 12(2), 155–161. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/indialogs.344

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