Mumbai: The 18th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) is set to honor the acclaimed wildlife filmmaker Subbiah Nallamuthu with the prestigious V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award, announced Dr. L. Murugan, the Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, today.
“I congratulate Nallamuthu for winning the prestigious award this edition,” said Dr. Murugan during an interaction with the media at the NFDC complex. The award recognizes Nallamuthu’s exceptional contributions to wildlife filmmaking, a field in which he has earned global acclaim.
An alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, Nallamuthu’s work has brought him widespread recognition. He gained prominence with “Living on the Edge,” India’s longest-running Panda Award-winning environmental series. His expertise also extends to his tenure with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as a high-speed cameraman.
Nallamuthu’s passion for the Royal Bengal Tiger has resulted in five tiger-centric international documentaries for National Geographic Channel and BBC, including “Tiger Dynasty” (2012-2013), “Tiger Queen” (2010), and “The World’s Most Famous Tiger” (2017). He has produced numerous documentaries on environmental issues and human-ecosystem interactions, such as “Earth File” (2000) for BBC World and “The World Gone Wild” (2001) for Animal Planet. Notably, he was among the first to use 4K resolution for wildlife filming in India.
His achievements in wildlife cinematography have earned him several national and international awards, including five National Film Awards. Nallamuthu is a regular jury member of the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival and served as the jury chairman of the Indian Panorama Film Festival in 2021.
The V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award, presented at each edition of MIFF, honors filmmakers for their seminal contributions to documentary films in India. The award includes a cash prize of 10 lakh rupees, a trophy, and a citation. It is named in memory of the legendary filmmaker V. Shantaram. Past recipients of the award include notable filmmakers such as Shyam Benegal and Vijaya Mulay.