Set inside the Charity Birds Hospital in Old Delhi, 'I Will Fly' follows the daily work of one of the world's oldest institutions dedicated to treating injured birds. Rooted in the Jain principle of ahimsa, the hospital provides free care to pigeons, parrots, crows and other birds harmed by the hazards of urban life. Through intimate observations of recovery and rehabilitation, the documentary becomes a meditation on compassion, coexistence, and the quiet acts of kindness that sustain both people and animals in a crowded city.
Tucked within the courtyard of the Digambar Jain Mandir in Old Delhi, the Charity Birds Hospital has been running for decades on the idea that every creature, however small, deserves care. The documentary 'I Will Fly', directed by Abhishek Sachidanandan turns its camera on this unlikely sanctuary, following the daily rhythm of a hospital built for pigeons, parrots, crows, and the occasional bird of prey.
The film opens on the everyday hum of the place with cages lining corridors, volunteers moving between wards, the low murmur of wings and worry. Birds arrive here the way patients arrive at any emergency room: broken, frightened, and often barely alive. Some have been struck by vehicles, others tangled in kite strings or clipped by ceiling fans, their injuries are the cost of sharing a city with eight million people. What I Will Fly captures is the unglamorous devotion behind their recovery like the feeding of a bird too weak to eat on its own; the patient, repetitive work of nursing something wild back to full strength.
Rooted in the Jain principle of ahimsa, or non-violence toward all living beings, the hospital treats every bird free of charge regardless of species or size. The documentary doesn't dwell on statistics or grand statements predating the film itself by many decades, standing opposite the Red Fort as one of the oldest institutions of its kind anywhere. Its wards are organized much like a general hospital's, with separate sections for different conditions and species, staffed by veterinarians and a rotating body of volunteers who tend to birds brought in by ordinary Delhi residents off the street. Entirely reliant on donations and free of charge to anyone who brings in an injured bird, the hospital treats hundreds of cases at a time during peak seasons like kite flying festivals.
That final image, a bird lifting off after weeks or months of care, is where the film ends. It's a moment of restoration; a small correction to the harm a crowded, fast-moving city inflicts on its most vulnerable residents. I Will Fly suggests that compassion can sometimes look like a stranger carrying an injured pigeon through a temple gate, trusting that someone inside will know exactly what to do. The documentary offers a very simple but universal message:
That kindness, extended even to the smallest and least regarded among us, remains one of the most human things we do.
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