Turtle Walker Documentary Review — Anupama Chopra | THR India

Anupama Chopra reviews Turtle Walker, a documentary by Taira Malaney about Satish Bhaskar, the pioneer of turtle conservation in India who passed away in 2023. Satish's remarkable life spanned surveying over 4,000 kilometres of Indian coastline between 1977 and 1996, and living alone on a Lakshadweep island studying turtles — sending letters to his wife Brenda in bottles cast into the sea. The film draws on interviews Taira conducted with Satish in 2018, interwoven with dramatised recreations featuring actor Rohan Joglekar. While Anupama notes that this blending of fiction and non-fiction makes the line between the two too porous, she finds the sheer wonder and courage of Satish's story powerful enough to overcome it. She praises the stunning cinematography by DOP Krish Makhija — including sweeping aerial shots and intimate footage of turtles laying eggs — though she wishes the film had given more space to Brenda's perspective. Co-produced by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti's Tiger Baby, with My Octopus Teacher co-director James Reed as executive producer, Turtle Walker is currently showing at impact screenings across India rather than on a streaming platform. Anupama recommends catching it if it plays near you. #TurtleWalker #DocumentaryReview #TurtleConservation #AnupamaCchopra #THRIndia #Lykstage #LykstageVideo #LykstageCreator #LykstageCommunity