Filmmaker Statement

For all of humanity’s rich history and complex existence, our evolution hasn’t transcended the dichotomy of our lived experiences — rich or poor; strong or weak; master or slave — it has only allowed for transitions across the divide at its best. At the very core of Shikari, it’s humanity happening — predator vs prey. This was our access to the story and formed our approach to telling a grounded story of an individual with his strong convictions of what’s right or wrong meeting an opposing force and worldview. Who will bend the knee? This is the subtext that drives our story. We have been strongly inspired by Denis Villeneuve’s Dune (2021) as it explores this human dichotomy — the strong invading the weak’s way of life and living. Also, it is narratively human as it is scientifically dystopian, neither getting in the way of the other. We show that powers shift; predators become preys and preys become predators — an unending circle of life.