Indian Filmmakers Seeking to Unite the Fight Against Poaching & Illegal Wildlife Trade Take Their Fight to the Streets of Mumbai

Los Angeles, CA, November 06, 2018 --(PR.com)-- The Majestic Bengal Tiger is part of a widespread international epidemic and a $19 Billion a year business of illegal wildlife trade; it is the same trade that’s wiping out elephants, rhinos and dozens of other endangered species. The black market business is run by sophisticated international crime syndicates and organized gangs preying on the exotic, such as the Bengal.

Before the international ban on tiger trade in 1993, tiger populations were being decimated by poachers. Despite the ban in the past few decades, the illegal demand for tigers as wall fixtures and status symbols has increased dramatically, leading to a new poaching crisis. According to National Geographic, poaching driven by the international illegal wildlife trade is the largest immediate threat to the remaining tiger population. Since 2010 hundreds of “known” poaching cases are rapidly killing off the endangered animal, whose estimated population sits at around 2500 cats.

Indian filmmakers, social activists and power couple Amit Sarin and Vineesha Arora-Sarin are fighting back, and raising international awareness for the Bengal Tiger, as well as the numerous other species being killed off as part of the illegal wildlife trade.

All along Back Road, Lokhandwala, Andheri West the duo, with the assistance of Vinesha’s children’s art school @WingsArtAcademy, they have made a powerful statement with their Be Free Street Art campaign, both sponsored and conceived by Vineesha. Conceptualized in April of 2018, Be Free Street Art is dedicated to ongoing social injustices that that we as a society continue to combat.

Dozens of colorful murals raising awareness of various causes have popped up in recent weeks as part of the Be Free campaign, murals with emphasis on #StopTigerPoaching, #SavetheBengal, #MeToo, #TimesUp and #StopChildAbuse, where according to a report by Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh, India unfortunately ranks at the top as the largest number of sexually abused children in the world. The Sarins have decided to use their influence to energize an environment of social change and healing in regards to these many atrocitities.

While the couple routinely speak out on behalf humanitarian injustices, they have become extremely involved in the fight against poaching and illegal wildlife trade. Their passions vividly shine through in their recent addition to Be Free. A team of teachers and students worked with the Sarins to create a powerful and artistic addition to the murals along Back Road titled Stop Poaching Save The Tiger.

As an observer you feel as though you are looking into the tiger's soul, feeling its pain, and understanding of the cruel realities it has been subjected. The mural is a modern masterpiece, a commanding/up-close look into the green eyes of a Bengal tiger, homage to their feature film Eyes of the Bengal; a fully funded theatrical production set to begin filming at the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve, India in February of 2019.

In alignment with their Be Free Street Art campaign and other global advocacy initiatives, Eyes of the Bengal is a globally relevant story that raises awareness to the impact of the poaching, an epidemic universally far reaching. At the foothills of the Himalayas where the hunter becomes the hunted, the majestic Bengal Tiger is poached to near extinction. An Indian/American team must join forces behind one resolute man to eradicate a smuggling cartel and save the lives of the endangered.

To bring the project to life, the Sarin’s Roaming Rickshaw Films, www.RoamingRickshawFilms.com, has partnered with Lotus Entertainment Group www.LotusEntGroup.com, a firm who specializes in international crossover projects that bring forward key creative, production and financial elements from Hollywood and Bollywood, the two most influential film industries in the world. Lotus Entertainment Group was founded by veteran filmmakers Peter Ziebert and Scott JT Frank.

Roaming Rickshaw Films is currently producing a mixed slate of projects for OTT platforms.

@WingsArtAcademy teaches children the art of loving oneself through the help of creative devices such as music, art, dance and drama. The academy has centers in Andheri West & Juhu. Vineesha’s mission is to provide a free-thinking creative space for children where they can come and discover themselves through the Arts, and to integrate Arts with academics one day to relieve children from the sickening pressure of hard core, tuition driven school systems of India. Wings Art Academy Cares is a non-profit leg of the academy that seeks to provide awareness on social injustices, especially those pertaining to children, but not restricted to India.

To find out more, please visit www.EyesOfTheBengal.com.