Five years after Delhi Crime, Richie Mehta returned with another web series this year – Poacher, a wildlife crime story based on real-life heroes. At the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF), Richie Mehta spoke about why he chose to narrate these stories of real-life heroes.

“Delhi Crime was very important to me, especially as an NRI. It’s a very low-hanging fruit for someone like me to observe a problem in India and then highlight it. I think it’s actually bullsh*t; it’s not my right to do that. I’m benefiting as an NRI, in an environment like Canada, where I can set my sights on something and achieve it. So, for me, it’s like I owe it to give back to this place. If I can take stories where the world has certain prejudices against India and turn them on their head to showcase the best of humanity, then I’ll do that. That’s what Delhi Crime was about and that’s what Poacher was about.”

Richie shared that after watching Poacher, people have been calling him to say they were unaware of how their grandmother had that bangle or a piece of decor carved from ivory in their house. Talking about why he decided to make the series, Richie said, “Without getting into controversy, we live in a very polarizing world. Poacher, however, was an issue that was non-polarizing. Nobody wants to see an elephant get shot in the head. I saw this and thought there are people who seem to be working tirelessly (to stop poaching).”

In response to a question on whether crime is his favourite genre, Richie shared, “I’m not much of a true crime person. I don’t watch true crime shows, although there are films that I’ve seen and really loved. I am using true crime as a device to talk about things that might not otherwise be interesting to the audience. So I am using every trick in the entertainment book to reach them.”

He added, “Personally, I believe that entertainment is a means to an end, not the end itself. That is not to say there aren’t wonderful films out there, which I also enjoy watching, but that’s not something I want to do. I would much rather do corporate videos for NGOs than make a film that I don’t like.”

Richie shared that among the projects he is currently working on there is a tiger trail story. Doesn’t he want to tell human stories, he was asked. “These are human stories; animals are not watching these shows. The amount of human drama involved is astounding. It’s incomprehensible what human beings are capable of, and there are people working to stop those crimes. I’m interested in very big stories that get to the heart of what we are capable of as a species. My journey is taking me to all sorts of places. I’ll be very lucky if I get to keep going.”

Richie shared that after Delhi Crime, he was offered hundreds of crime stories, military stories, big-budget stories. But he said no to all of them. “I thought, I have leverage, and I’m going to use it on wildlife crime. Let’s run with it and see what happens. I’m a big believer in taking that gamble when I’m in that position.”

Elaborating further on his choice of the stories, Richie said, “I have ten projects now, working on different things most of them are wildlife-related… As an NRI, I am not interested in telling local stories because local filmmakers can tell them better.”

Richie said that he has never used a writer’s room for any of his projects. “I have witnessed writer’s rooms before, and sometimes it’s dangerous because it is so much fun. It’s very easy to lose your way. At the end of the day, you might think it was the best creative experience, but a month later, you realize you’re far off from the point you started and are in a different world now. I think writer’s rooms are most successful with comedy because the intention of comedy is a kind of sophisticated diversion. I love researching and writing a lot, and I don’t want to give it up.”