In Poacher, Mala Jogi is a Forest Range Officer who is determined to bring the elephant murderers to justice. Nimisha Sajayan plays Mala.
Neel Banerjee especially asks for Mala Jogi to be on his team, considering how tough she is, that she has a good track record, and that she knows their villages inside and out.
Mala is sensitive towards animals, and her past demons come haunting her during the investigation of Raaz’s gang in the show.
Mala’s father was a poacher, and she hates the fact that she grew up on money made by killing animals. She is atoning for her father’s sins and claims that she would have rather died of hunger than grow up on her father’s money if she had earlier known where it came from.
Throughout the show, Mala plays an influential role in taking down Raaz’s gang and executing the biggest ivory raid in the country’s history.
Inspiration behind Mala Jogi
Mala Jogi is based on Manu Sathyan, who was a Range officer back when the Malayattoor elephant poaching case investigation kicked off.
Richie Mehta used some lines spoken by Manu during a conversation between them in the dialogue for the character Mala Jogi in the series.
Manu Sathyan calls the case a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He is currently working as a Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) in Kerala’s Forest and Wildlife Department.
For the past 20 years, Manu has been working in the Forest Department. It’s not a boring job for him. He feels like he is living; it’s something new for him every day.
Based on everything Manu has shared, Mehta has attempted to incorporate little details about the raids and how the officers had to function into the character of Mala Jogi and the series itself.
Also Read: Poacher summary and ending explained