2024
HDFC & PRADAN
Seeds of Change | HDFC Parivartan
A documentary captured across Panna and Khajuraho, showcasing how women-led collectives, farmer producer companies, and rural communities are transforming their futures through the HDFC Parivartan initiative implemented by PRADAN.
Documentary
Social Impact
Overview
This film explores the deep, long-term developmental work being carried out under the HDFC Parivartan Rural Development Programme, with PRADAN as the implementation partner.
Shot across Panna and Khajuraho in 2024, the documentary highlights how women, farmers, and collectives are strengthening their livelihoods through sustainable natural resource management, improved agriculture practices, and community-driven institutions.
What was the challenge or idea?
The challenge was to capture complex, multi-sector interventions and distill them into a cohesive, emotionally resonant story. Across villages, farms, watershed structures, goat sheds, nurseries, and solar-lift irrigation sites, every location demanded thoughtful framing and patient storytelling.
Key challenges:
Representing diverse interventions without diluting the narrative
Maintaining authenticity while ensuring clarity for urban audiences
Shooting in real working conditions across remote rural geographies
Capturing women’s lived experiences with dignity and depth
How did Rotten Tree approach it?
We approached the film as a human-first, visual documentary, where each intervention becomes a doorway into people’s lives.
Our approach included:
Ground-led storytelling, following women, farmers, and collectives in their day-to-day work
Cinematic natural landscape visuals of Panna’s terrain, farm fields, and watershed structures
Close-up emotional interviews with women leaders, FPC members, and farmers
Layered narrative structure connecting water → agriculture → livelihoods → markets
Warm, organic colour palette inspired by Bundelkhand landscapes
Minimal staging, everything captured as lived reality
The result is a film that feels grounded, honest, and deeply human.
Impact & Usage
The documentary is being used for:
HDFC Parivartan’s annual reporting & donor communications
PRADAN’s programme presentations
Community-level trainings
Social media outreach
Corporate stakeholder showcases
On-ground mobilisation efforts
It has helped bring visibility to rural women’s leadership, sustainable agriculture models, and farmer-owned institutions.
Key Interventions Featured:
Goatery enterprises
Solar-lift irrigation systems
Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM)
Water harvesting & watershed planning
Organic agriculture
Poultry enterprises
Women-led FPC building & governance
This film is a testament to resilience in motion, the quiet revolution happening through women’s collective strength in rural India.
By capturing real voices and real transformations, it highlights how long-term, patient development work can reshape futures.
It reinforces a simple truth:
When women lead, communities prosper.
Credits
Client
PRADAN
Funded By
HDFC Parivartan Initiative
Produced & Executed By
Rotten Tree Productions
Concept
PRADAN
Rotten Tree Productions
Direction
Ajinkya Sharma
Executive Producer
Soumya Rakhe
Cinematography
Ajinkya Sharma
Post-Production
Rotten Tree Productions
Animation / Graphics
Rotten Tree Productions
Sound & Music
Licensed music
Special Thanks
PRADAN Team
Sonu Bal
Kundan Kumar
Ashish Kumar
Risva
Durgesh
Jyotsana
Saheb
The women-led collectives, farmers, and community members who shared their time, stories, and trust.
Trivia
Shot across 15+ locations in just a few days
Real interviews with women SHG members and FPC leaders
Completely unscripted 100% real stories
One of RTP’s most extensive on-ground documentary shoots in 2024
HDFC Parivartan • PRADAN Documentary • Rural Development Film • Women-Led Collectives • Sustainable Agriculture • Water Security • Bundelkhand • Livelihoods Documentary • Social Impact Storytelling
Need sensitive, grounded storytelling for social-impact work? Let’s create films that drive real change.
More Works
(RTP® — 02)
FAQ
01
What kind of stories do you work on?
02
I don’t have a clear brief, is that a problem?
03
Do you only do big productions?
04
How involved can I be in the process?
05
What if I want something experimental?
06
How do you charge for projects?
07
Do you travel for shoots?
08
Why the name Rotten Tree?
2024
HDFC & PRADAN
Seeds of Change | HDFC Parivartan
A documentary captured across Panna and Khajuraho, showcasing how women-led collectives, farmer producer companies, and rural communities are transforming their futures through the HDFC Parivartan initiative implemented by PRADAN.
Documentary
Social Impact
Overview
This film explores the deep, long-term developmental work being carried out under the HDFC Parivartan Rural Development Programme, with PRADAN as the implementation partner.
Shot across Panna and Khajuraho in 2024, the documentary highlights how women, farmers, and collectives are strengthening their livelihoods through sustainable natural resource management, improved agriculture practices, and community-driven institutions.
What was the challenge or idea?
The challenge was to capture complex, multi-sector interventions and distill them into a cohesive, emotionally resonant story. Across villages, farms, watershed structures, goat sheds, nurseries, and solar-lift irrigation sites, every location demanded thoughtful framing and patient storytelling.
Key challenges:
Representing diverse interventions without diluting the narrative
Maintaining authenticity while ensuring clarity for urban audiences
Shooting in real working conditions across remote rural geographies
Capturing women’s lived experiences with dignity and depth
How did Rotten Tree approach it?
We approached the film as a human-first, visual documentary, where each intervention becomes a doorway into people’s lives.
Our approach included:
Ground-led storytelling, following women, farmers, and collectives in their day-to-day work
Cinematic natural landscape visuals of Panna’s terrain, farm fields, and watershed structures
Close-up emotional interviews with women leaders, FPC members, and farmers
Layered narrative structure connecting water → agriculture → livelihoods → markets
Warm, organic colour palette inspired by Bundelkhand landscapes
Minimal staging, everything captured as lived reality
The result is a film that feels grounded, honest, and deeply human.
Impact & Usage
The documentary is being used for:
HDFC Parivartan’s annual reporting & donor communications
PRADAN’s programme presentations
Community-level trainings
Social media outreach
Corporate stakeholder showcases
On-ground mobilisation efforts
It has helped bring visibility to rural women’s leadership, sustainable agriculture models, and farmer-owned institutions.
Key Interventions Featured:
Goatery enterprises
Solar-lift irrigation systems
Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM)
Water harvesting & watershed planning
Organic agriculture
Poultry enterprises
Women-led FPC building & governance
This film is a testament to resilience in motion, the quiet revolution happening through women’s collective strength in rural India.
By capturing real voices and real transformations, it highlights how long-term, patient development work can reshape futures.
It reinforces a simple truth:
When women lead, communities prosper.
Credits
Client
PRADAN
Funded By
HDFC Parivartan Initiative
Produced & Executed By
Rotten Tree Productions
Concept
PRADAN
Rotten Tree Productions
Direction
Ajinkya Sharma
Executive Producer
Soumya Rakhe
Cinematography
Ajinkya Sharma
Post-Production
Rotten Tree Productions
Animation / Graphics
Rotten Tree Productions
Sound & Music
Licensed music
Special Thanks
PRADAN Team
Sonu Bal
Kundan Kumar
Ashish Kumar
Risva
Durgesh
Jyotsana
Saheb
The women-led collectives, farmers, and community members who shared their time, stories, and trust.
Trivia
Shot across 15+ locations in just a few days
Real interviews with women SHG members and FPC leaders
Completely unscripted 100% real stories
One of RTP’s most extensive on-ground documentary shoots in 2024
HDFC Parivartan • PRADAN Documentary • Rural Development Film • Women-Led Collectives • Sustainable Agriculture • Water Security • Bundelkhand • Livelihoods Documentary • Social Impact Storytelling
Need sensitive, grounded storytelling for social-impact work? Let’s create films that drive real change.
More Works
(RTP® — 02)
FAQ
01
What kind of stories do you work on?
02
I don’t have a clear brief, is that a problem?
03
Do you only do big productions?
04
How involved can I be in the process?
05
What if I want something experimental?
06
How do you charge for projects?
07
Do you travel for shoots?
08
Why the name Rotten Tree?
2024
HDFC & PRADAN
Seeds of Change | HDFC Parivartan
A documentary captured across Panna and Khajuraho, showcasing how women-led collectives, farmer producer companies, and rural communities are transforming their futures through the HDFC Parivartan initiative implemented by PRADAN.
Documentary
Social Impact
Overview
This film explores the deep, long-term developmental work being carried out under the HDFC Parivartan Rural Development Programme, with PRADAN as the implementation partner.
Shot across Panna and Khajuraho in 2024, the documentary highlights how women, farmers, and collectives are strengthening their livelihoods through sustainable natural resource management, improved agriculture practices, and community-driven institutions.
What was the challenge or idea?
The challenge was to capture complex, multi-sector interventions and distill them into a cohesive, emotionally resonant story. Across villages, farms, watershed structures, goat sheds, nurseries, and solar-lift irrigation sites, every location demanded thoughtful framing and patient storytelling.
Key challenges:
Representing diverse interventions without diluting the narrative
Maintaining authenticity while ensuring clarity for urban audiences
Shooting in real working conditions across remote rural geographies
Capturing women’s lived experiences with dignity and depth
How did Rotten Tree approach it?
We approached the film as a human-first, visual documentary, where each intervention becomes a doorway into people’s lives.
Our approach included:
Ground-led storytelling, following women, farmers, and collectives in their day-to-day work
Cinematic natural landscape visuals of Panna’s terrain, farm fields, and watershed structures
Close-up emotional interviews with women leaders, FPC members, and farmers
Layered narrative structure connecting water → agriculture → livelihoods → markets
Warm, organic colour palette inspired by Bundelkhand landscapes
Minimal staging, everything captured as lived reality
The result is a film that feels grounded, honest, and deeply human.
Impact & Usage
The documentary is being used for:
HDFC Parivartan’s annual reporting & donor communications
PRADAN’s programme presentations
Community-level trainings
Social media outreach
Corporate stakeholder showcases
On-ground mobilisation efforts
It has helped bring visibility to rural women’s leadership, sustainable agriculture models, and farmer-owned institutions.
Key Interventions Featured:
Goatery enterprises
Solar-lift irrigation systems
Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM)
Water harvesting & watershed planning
Organic agriculture
Poultry enterprises
Women-led FPC building & governance
This film is a testament to resilience in motion, the quiet revolution happening through women’s collective strength in rural India.
By capturing real voices and real transformations, it highlights how long-term, patient development work can reshape futures.
It reinforces a simple truth:
When women lead, communities prosper.
Credits
Client
PRADAN
Funded By
HDFC Parivartan Initiative
Produced & Executed By
Rotten Tree Productions
Concept
PRADAN
Rotten Tree Productions
Direction
Ajinkya Sharma
Executive Producer
Soumya Rakhe
Cinematography
Ajinkya Sharma
Post-Production
Rotten Tree Productions
Animation / Graphics
Rotten Tree Productions
Sound & Music
Licensed music
Special Thanks
PRADAN Team
Sonu Bal
Kundan Kumar
Ashish Kumar
Risva
Durgesh
Jyotsana
Saheb
The women-led collectives, farmers, and community members who shared their time, stories, and trust.
Trivia
Shot across 15+ locations in just a few days
Real interviews with women SHG members and FPC leaders
Completely unscripted 100% real stories
One of RTP’s most extensive on-ground documentary shoots in 2024
HDFC Parivartan • PRADAN Documentary • Rural Development Film • Women-Led Collectives • Sustainable Agriculture • Water Security • Bundelkhand • Livelihoods Documentary • Social Impact Storytelling
Need sensitive, grounded storytelling for social-impact work? Let’s create films that drive real change.
More Works
(RTP® — 02)
FAQ
What kind of stories do you work on?
I don’t have a clear brief, is that a problem?
Do you only do big productions?
How involved can I be in the process?
What if I want something experimental?
How do you charge for projects?
Do you travel for shoots?
Why the name Rotten Tree?