On World Environment Day, the Green Oscar winning documentary filmmaker-duo of Vijay and Ajay Bedi share their journey with Angela Paljor
The Bedi brothers started documenting films at an early age. In fact they are the youngest Asians to have won the Wildscreen Awards known as Green Oscar for their films – The Policing langur andthe Cherub of the Mist. The duo has worked on various wildlife documentaries, films with social issues as well as corporate films for some of the biggest international names in the industry.
You are the third generation of wildlife filmmakers and photographers in the family, was the choice to be documentary filmmakers an effect of the family having been associated with it for so long or a thought after decisionIJ
Vijay: Wildlife filmmaking and photography is in our blood as we grew up in jungles, surrounded by wildlife. While children from our school would go for summer camps in hill stations, we would be visiting our family in the wild, filming and taking pictures. So, the early exposure to the world of filmmaking did incline us to be one of them.
Your work has been widely appreciated across the world but somehow lacks audience in India. Do you think that the Indian audience is into “mainstream” cinema and hence lacks interestIJ
Vijay: India lacks broadcast networks which have shows dedicated to documentaries, unlike the International platform which not only has dedicated channels but even cinema that showcases documentary films. We do have a slot in Doordarshan which is really small and is a major issue. We all need to come together and raise this issue which is what we have been doing for a long time. Documentary should be a main stream medium of entertainment and also a part of creating awareness on issues like environment, culture and wildlife.
As a documentary filmmaker, how difficult is it to get funding for your projects in the current scenarioIJ
Vijay: Getting funds for a project is really difficult and that is why we are the only family which produces its own films. We put our hard earned money to produce it. Also, you need requisitions for commissioned films and end up paying a lot of money. Normally, in India, there a lot of cameramen working for them but they don’t produce their own films. When you do that you have an editorial responsibility and of course one will be dictated by the broadcasters or the distributors who is commissioning the film. As an independent filmmaker, you have the liberty and are not restricted to showcase the pretty side. It is essential to talk about the real difficult issues and show the ugly side like habitats being lost during mining or children being forced into labour. We need to change government policies and focus on real conservation issues.
What are the challenges you have faced with in this industryIJ How difficult is it to survive hereIJ
Ajay: No work is easy. Challenges keeps us going. We have survived for three generations in this industry and one should know how to market their products. There is no easy way out, one has to work hard, be passionate and have patience.The good thing about this age is the access to multi media. I call this generation X, where if the broadcaster doesn’t agree, you can easily upload it on the internet which gives you more response and visibility, it is the main objective behind making documentaries. And if its not to create awareness, then the purpose is false. Today, there is no need to compromise on the subject or storytelling; it can be about a river behind your house or a garbage dump in the middle of the forest. At the same time, technology has also evolved, Canon taking the lead in DSlRs, has now come up with products especially for the cinema. Its not just a compact camera by also gives you high quality of images unlike the old days when the camera would be bulky and had lighting and storage issues. When we were in Africa in Masai Mara, we had chartered planes for transportation which allows only a certain amount of weight and now that cameras are so small, you can easily fit them in your backpack.
You have been working so close with the environment, what are the changes that you have been noticingIJ
Ajay: Talking about the national parks, they are so well protected that there isn’t much of a change. But the reserve forest or the corridors that lie beyond the national park are definitely deteriorating. With more afforestation, animal and human confrontation is on a rise as animals like elephants need more area to move around, especially in the forests of Chhattisgarh and even in Madhya Pradesh. There have been a lot of changes over the past years, some good, some bad. Climate change has definitely affected the forest life, especially the Sundarbans where the water level has increased while the mangrove forest has been cut down. Currently, we are working on frogs of India which has never been done before. It is a film showcasing 15 species of amphibians in India and how they are disappearing fast. Frogs are the oldest amphibians after the dinosaurs, they have evolved and adapted to the climate changes over the years. We as humans have so much to learn from them; unfortunately they are on the way to being extinct. It's not just being filmmakers or photographers but to remember that it's our nature and we need to save them.
How do you personally feel about animals being caged in zoological parksIJ
Ajay: Technically, it looks really unnatural but I am not against it as there is a scientific value associated to them. Certain zoos are doing a really good job in breeding animals, like the zoo in Darjeeling where they breed the snow leopards. China and Japan have revived the giant Pandas in their zoo. If we are only looking at the entertainment level then its wrong but they play a great role in educating people about the animals. Also, certain animals after a certain age are not fit to be in the wild and they find a new home in the zoos. Animals that have been captured or wounded have a place to be treated and recover, before they are released in their natural habitat.