In Sherni (2021), Vidya Balan is a forest officer tasked with leading a high-risk operation to track down an errant tigress in the jungle. The character has to take on superiors and colleagues who don’t think she is up to it while trying to handle irate villagers who are up in arms over the animal’s presence.
While the story is fictional, the events depicted in the film directed by Amit Masurkar calls to mind the real-life tigress Avni, who was shot and killed in Maharashtra after a government order. The tigress had allegedly been responsible for the deaths of several villagers.
Here, too, a professional hunter (Sharat Saxena) offers his services to take down the animal, while Vidya has to deal with both civilians and the rest of the forest staff who want the tigress captured. She also has to deal with male colleagues (including one played by Neeraj Kabi) who are constantly undermining her, as she rises in the ranks.
The film, which seeks to show both sides of the animal-versus-man conflict, is due to be released on 18 June on Amazon Prime. The actress’s last film, Shakuntala Devi (2020), was also premiered on the platform.
Check out the trailer below and let us know if you are keen on watching the film.