Pradip Krishen (b 1949), is an Indian filmmaker and environmentalist. He has directed three films, Massey Sahib in 1985, In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones in 1989 and Electric Moon for Channel 4, UK in 1991. His films have won significant Indian and international awards, and In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones acquired cult status in the years after it was made.[1]
He subsequently gave up filmmaking, and since 1995, has worked as a naturalist and environmentalist.[2][3]
Education[edit | edit source]
Pradip Krishen is born in New Delhi and educated at Mayo College and St. Stephen's College, then at Balliol College, Oxford. He taught history at Ramjas College of University of Delhi, New Delhi.[4]
Career[edit | edit source]
Film-making[edit | edit source]
Before becoming a documentary filmmaker (Krishen made popular science documentaries).
- Massey Sahib: 1985 Hindi movie of Francis Massey, who is the 'English Type Babu' at the Deputy Commissioner's office, in a small, tribal district town of Central India in 1929.
- In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones: 1989 Indian English TV film, in which it captured the anguish among the students prevailing in professional institutions.[5] It is based on the life of students of School of Planning and Architecture[6] At the 1988 National Film Award it won the awards for Best Feature Film in English.[7][8]
- Electric Moon: A 1992 Channel 4 production, spoofed game-park tourists, erstwhile royals, social pretence, and ecology.[9]
Krishen began work on a 21 episode television series intended for Doordarshan called Bargad / The Banyan Tree,[10] a project Krishen was forced to abandon before completion, due to interference from the production house he was working for.
Environmental work[edit | edit source]
Starting in 1995, Krishen began studying trees [11] and spending time in the jungles of Panchmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, with the help of a forester friend.[12] Krishen taught himself field botany and began identifying and photographing Delhi's trees, extensively exploring the city's green habitat. In the course of his work, Krishen led numerous public "tree-walks" on Sunday mornings [13] and became a keen ecological gardener. Krishen has created "native-plant" gardens in Delhi, west Rajasthan, and Garhwal, and is currently working on two projects - a large planting scheme around a fort in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and a multifaceted eco-initiative in the Sunder Nursery in New Delhi.
Krishen's book Trees of Delhi: A Field Guide, published by Dorling Kindersley/Penguin Group in 2006, met with popular and critical acclaim, and became a bestseller in India.[14][15]
Personal life[edit | edit source]
Pradip Krishen is married to the Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy. He has two daughters, Pia Krishen and Mithva Krishen from an earlier marriage.
Works[edit | edit source]
- Trees of Delhi: A Field Guide, by Pradip Krishen. Published by Dorling Kindersley (India), 2006. ISBN 0-14-400070-9.
References[edit | edit source]
External links[edit | edit source]
- ↑ India's lost cult films The Economic Times, 24 May 2008.
- ↑ ..well-known environmentalist Pradip Krishen .. The Hindu, Sunday, 25 March 2007.
- ↑ ‘I’m a plant man now’ Tehelka, 20 May 2006.
- ↑ Pradip Krishen chaosmag.in. Retrieved 18 November 2012
- ↑ 36th National Film Festival, 1989 iffi.nic.in. Directorate of Fil Festival. Retrieved 7 November 2012
- ↑ Capitally Curious indianexpress.com. Retrieved 16 November 2012
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Goddess of Small Things independent.co.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2012
- ↑ [http://www.rediff.com/news/apr/05roy2.htm Rediff.com.
- ↑ 'Studying trees began as a hobby' The Times of India, 15 June 2006.
- ↑ Romancing Delhi’s trees Sify.com, By Rashme Sehgal| Tuesday, 24 January 2006.
- ↑ “tree walk”, to be conducted on Sunday morning by Krishen, eco-botanist and author.. Indian Express, 3 February 2008.
- ↑ Capital’s tree man Pradip Krishen The Hindu, 5 August 2007.
- ↑ Go take a walk with Pradip Krishen’s Trees of Delhi Gopal Sathe, Indian Express, 21 May 2006.