ABOUT
Film production with a new approach - to break out of formulaic media and tell the stories from a new perspective. Observers Studio intends to shine the spotlight on the stories of people and nature that are hiding in plain sight. The kind of stories whose sum will add to the whole. Founded by Dheeraj Aithal and Bhargav Sandhilaya, bringing together the experience of movie making and documenting stories that matter.
Dheeraj Aithal
National Geographic Explorer Dheeraj Aithal is a documentary filmmaker and aerial cinematographer drawn to stories at the intersection of people, wildlife, and fragile ecosystems. His work combines cinematic storytelling with deep field-based observation, often focusing on overlooked environmental narratives and the communities connected to them.
He has worked on international productions for Arte, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, France Télévisions, National Geographic Wild and Smithsonian Channel. As an aerial cinematographer, he has contributed to the Academy Award-winning The Elephant Whisperers, feature films including The Braid and And Tomorrow You Will Be Dead, along with environmental reporting pieces for Associated Press, Deutsche Welle and Mongabay.
His directorial work includes The Last Hop(e), a film on frog conservation in the Western Ghats, and Avalokanam, which explores water, memory, and resilience in arid regions of India. Working closely with scientists, local communities, and conservation practitioners, his films aim to make ecological issues emotionally accessible without losing scientific depth.
As a contracted filmmaker with United Nations Development Programme India, Dheeraj is interested in pushing the boundaries of environmental storytelling through immersive visual language, long form observation, and human centered narratives that inspire deeper engagement with the natural world.
Bhargav Shandilya
Bhargav Shandilya is an independent storyteller who uses a variety of visual media to enhance his narratives. Having grown up partly in the temple village of Shantigrama and then in the bustling city of Bengaluru, his stories revolve around people, culture and the vagaries of everyday life they face. Over the years, his work has taken him across the length and breadth of the country exploring the diversity in stories revolving around people.