Olive Ridley turtles win race to the box office

He is into music albums and ad-film production since nine years and had always wanted to produce a feature film, but one which contained a message for country’s youth.

Meet Suresh Menon and his friend Raja Unnithan. The duo, along with another friend Amit Garg, has produced India’s first feature film on the theme of wildlife conservation, Hello Zindagi, and the subject is Olive Ridley turtles.

“We always wanted to make a full-length feature film on a topic that directly affects our lives and carries a message for the youth,” said Menon. During a visit to Goa four years ago, Unnithan came across some locals who told him about the trade of turtle eggs along Goan shores.

“I was shocked to learn that all the eggs laid on the shore were sold off, and even the turtles were killed,” Unnithan said. That Olive Ridleys are facing a threat at their biggest nesting grounds agitated the duo no end, and they conceived the idea of making a film. “The sole objective of the film is to create awareness among Indian youth about the issue and rope them into turtle conservation,” Menon said.

The movie is about a young girl Kavita who is rebellious, fiercely independent, and couldn’t care less for the society. Just after college, she finds herself at the crossroads of life, alienated by her ambitious, materialistic friends and ostracised by her family.

She knows that the stable, secure marriage her mother wishes for her is the last thing she wants. But what does she want? Out of control and self-destructive, a ray of hope appears when she runs into Dr Sadhana, who is married, well-settled, but surprisingly intrigued by Kavita.

Life takes a turn for both on a vacation to Goa, when Kavita meets Arpan, an investment banker turned environmentalist. Inspired by his mission to save the endangered Olive Ridley turtles, she finally finds clarity in life.