• Director Prabhu Solomon’s new film, poised to release mid-January 2021, has a central character inspired by Jadav Payeng. The trilingual film titled Kaadan in Tamil, Haathi Mere Saathi in Hindi and Aranya in Telugu, stars Rana Daggubati as a man who lives in the jungle. Is Jadav excited? He says, “If the movie makes people start loving trees, I will be delighted. I don’t mind if anyone makes monetary gains out of my story or through me. Only request I have is... do not gamble.”
  • Despite the upcoming movie, and the fact that he is now in school text books, Jadav does not see himself as a celebrity, nor does he care about the laurels he has earned. “Reading about me is not enough. Do what I do. I want school teachers to follow up on my chapter with tree-planting sessions, and to teach children to nurture and grow them with love and care,” he says.