Inspired to put environmentalism theme on the spotlight, Himachali filmmaker Pawan Kumar Sharma is all set to shoot his next feature film ‘Van Rakshak’ in the beautiful locales of Himachal Pradesh.

“Faced with climate change, environment issues have increasingly become a talk for each and every nation and I as a filmmaker also decided to do my bit in contributing spread the message on environment and to sensitize the people,” Sharma the director of the film told The Statesman.

He disclosed that the shooting of the film under the banner of JM Entertainment and Shailja Cinematics Private Limited, will start from 15 October, in the beautiful locales of Janajeli, Thunag, Mandi and Gohar in Mandi district.

“Amidst the beauty of Himachal, we will try to find the answers that will be needed to protect the environment and ourselves. It will be shot in two languages Hindi and Himachali with a duration of 100 minutes. Once completed the film will be screened at International Film Festivals along with National Film Festival,” he said, adding that it will be the first full-fledged feature film that will be sent in Film Festival.

Besides, Sharma others include producers Vedant Jha and Satyan Srivastava, music director Balkrishan Sharma and scriptwriter Jitendra Gupta.

Touching upon the burning issues of global warming and conservation of the environment, the storyline of the film ‘Van Rakshak’ revolves around a protagonist Charanjilal a forest guard, who loves mother earth since his childhood.

“It is not just a fictional tale of Charanjilal from Himachal Pradesh, but is the truth of today, a reality check which all of the human race badly needs at this point of time,” said Sharma.

Chairanjilal is a poor village boy who had to serve as child labour to feed himself and his family. He aspires to become an officer, however he could not complete his graduation and ends up becoming a shopkeeper.

He is complacent with his business until he gets restless upon hearing the damages of global warming and climate change.

Realization of natural calamities owing to climate change makes him resolve to contribute his bit to save the planet earth.

He quits his well-settled business and joins the forest department as a forest guard determined to protect the wildlife.

Like a soldier he battles to protect the forest from the uneducated villagers who cut trees, wood smugglers, mafias and the system.

Although, he ends up sacrificing his life fighting for the cause as a forest guard, however, he is successful to wake up the people and ignite a huge debate on the issue of development versus nature conservation.

“We are living in 21^st century where we want all the luxury at the cost of our nature and environment. This film is a reality check on all such facts and I hope it will compel is to rethink about our responsibilities and ponder about our luxury and the cost it entails,” he added.

The cast of the film include Dhirendera Thakur, Falak Khan, CID serial fame Aditya Srivastava, Yashpal Sharma.

A Nation School of Drama (NSD) graduate, Sharma hails from Mandi district in Himachal and has dedicated almost 20 years to theatre as an actor, teacher and art designer.

There is mix blend of singers from Bollywood and Himachal including Shubha Mudgal, Shakti Singh and two singers from Himachal Hansraj Raghuwanshi and Kuldeep Sharma lending their voice to the songs penned by lyricist Sunil Jogi.

As a director, Sharma’s debut feature film ‘Brina’ (2016) based on the true story on customs of Mandi district, won him accolades across the world. The film has won Best Film Jury and Best Villan Awards both in Prague International Film Festival as well as in Jaipur International Film Festival.

His recently directed ‘Karim Mohammad’, has been showcased in various international film festivals and has won many awards in different categories.