Mentor Portfolio

For over a decade, Kaushik Mukhopadhyay has been chasing stories that most people overlook, the quiet moments in the wild, the hidden species, the communities who live closest to nature. A wildlife filmmaker, photographer, mountaineer, and passionate naturalist, Kaushik has been working in the field since 2011, capturing the raw beauty of landscapes that span from the Garhwal Himalayas to the mangroves of the Sundarbans, and across Northeast India including Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim.

Kaushik is best known for his critically acclaimed documentary, “Fishing Cat: The Pride of Bengal”, which he self-funded through immense personal sacrifice, selling his motorbike, his mother's jewellery, and drawing from his father's provident fund. That film went on to win at the Nature inFocus Film Awards (2023) and received world premieres in New York (2024) and Cyprus, marking his emergence as a powerful voice in wildlife storytelling.

His works have been featured in Better Photography, Chiiz Magazine, SEAVUS, Eakhon Aronyak and Jara Jajabor, alongside numerous books, various newspapers, regional wildlife journals and scientific papers. Kaushik has also contributed to documentary projects aired on National Geographic and Discovery, lending his expertise and lens to global conservation narratives.

What makes Kaushik’s work truly impactful is his belief in grassroots conservation. He has consistently worked on biodiversity surveys, local community awareness programs, environmental screenings, and field-based research initiatives often in remote and challenging terrain. Whether leading birdwatching tours, training students in outdoor education camps, or documenting rare species, his aim is always the same: to connect people to nature, and to do it with honesty and purpose.

Kaushik's approach to gear is refreshingly practical; he selects tools based on terrain, output, and assignment, believing that the story matters more than the equipment. And as a mentor, he is deeply committed to nurturing the next generation of visual storytellers who see the wild not just as a backdrop, but as a story that needs to be told.

From a modest upbringing in Madhyamgram to film premieres on international stages, Kaushik’s journey is a testament to what passion and persistence can create even without privilege. His work reminds us that the wild is not just a place, but a promise and stories are the bridges that bring people back to it.

He believes that visual narratives can shape perspectives and bridge people with

nature, making storytelling a powerful conservation tool.