They like spending several hours quietly watching animals and birds in action on the nature’s lap. They are doing this for more than four decades but each day of their rendezvous with the nature fill them with pleasant surprise. They think that the nature’s enigma is unfathomable. They are Bedi brothers – the world famous wildlife photographers and filmmakers who inserted a new angle in ‘clicks and shots’ through their aesthetic pictures on existence. They rather accentuate that everything that is wild (in jungles) is actually beautiful. In a tête-à-tête with Central Chronicle correspondent Yogesh Mishra, one of the Bedi brothers - Naresh talks on varied aspects of wildlife filmmaking during the recently held sixth international green film festival organised by CMS Vatavaran at New Delhi.
New Delhi/ Raipur, December 17, 2011
Central Chronicle (CC): You have explored many forests in the country. What about Chhattisgarh jungles?
Naresh Bedi (NB): Of course, I have been to Chhattisgarh. It was Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary and the jungles of Marwahi where we did our ballooning series. This was the first time when we pictured the jungles while floating in balloon. It was really a tough job to take shots from different altitudes, but was exciting too. Our ballooning series enveloped the forests of eight states including Chhattisgarh.
CC: How was your experience in Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary?
NB: It was an encouraging trip. It was certainly a good place to visit. I have heard that the state government is moving out some villages from the sanctuary range which is good for the animals and the forest dwellers as well.
CC: what about the animals? Did you see any tiger there?
NB: Unfortunately, we could not. The local officials informed that the tiger density is less in the sanctuary. They are taking measures to increase tiger population. However, the density of leopards, sloth bears and wild dogs is satisfactory.
CC: Don’t you get tempted by Bastar forests which have untapped and pristine regions like Aboojhmad?
NB: Of course, I do. But I did not get an opportunity to explore it. I would love to capture Bastar jungles in my camera. I will surely visit the region in coming years. Meanwhile, if the Chhattisgarh government would invite me to do any project on Bastar, I would never miss the chance.
CC: Is photography or filmmaking in reserved forests an affordable deal?
NB: Not at all. Rather, the budget inflates while doing so. We last did our project in Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh. We had to shell out more than Rs 50000 per day including entry fee, jeep fee, elephant ride, stay etc. In fact, charges in all the reserved forests are exorbitant. Making wildlife films is really an expensive job.
CC: So how do wildlife filmmakers arrange funds for their projects?
NB: Usually, we raise the requisite funds through our own sources. Some filmmakers feel that the corporate sector should fund us, but they would not invest unless they get return in any terms – be it publicity or anything of that sort. Corporate funding also means that filmmakers would have to tolerate external interference. Eventually, the original idea in that case would largely be superimposed by corporate viewpoint.
CC: Wildlife filmmaking is still an unorganised sector. Have the people of your likes ever thought of obtaining a status of industry for wildlife films from Government of India? Perhaps, financial succor may pour in from corporate world, banks and even from commercial moviemakers.
NB: Oh! This is a unique concept and we have not really thought about it. Actually, wildlife filmmakers are really wild. Efforts were made to bring them at some common platform many a time in the past, but none clicked. In India, there could be many wildlife filmmakers but not more than ten meet at different events like the one organised by CMS Vatavaran. We surely need to jointly raise our voice, work and take grant from the Central government.
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