India’s smooth-coated otters are captivating animals with distinct characters and intricate social lives. In this beautiful and heartwarming documentary, wildlife filmmaker Sugandhi Gadadhar explores the playful and resilient lives of an otter family residing in one of India’s most rapidly changing waterways.

 

The banks of the River Cauvery are where Sugandhi spent her childhood holidays. The memories of those times and her fleeting glimpses of the mysterious animals dipping below the waterline have fascinated her ever since.

 

Now she is back and with the help of Shivu, a local fisherman, is following Maya, a female otter, and her family in the hope of documenting their family dynamics, challenges, and achievements. But the otters are wary of her presence. They have learnt that staying elusive means staying alive.

 

Shivu grew up along the banks of the river Cauvery. He not only helps Sugandhi navigate the waters but also opens her eyes to the lives of fishermen and the problems they face.

 

As pollution and destructive dynamite fishing threaten the delicate balance of their habitat, the otters and the fishermen, whose livelihoods also depend on the river, are often in conflict.

 

Not many people know that otters exist in India. An otter is to a river what a tiger is to a forest. They are the apex predators in the river. Set along the picturesque landscape of the river Cauvery in southern India, this film captures never-before-filmed otter behaviour while subtly articulating the conflict that is brewing.