HIGH DEMANDS

The junior Bedis — Ajay and Vijay— were pleased to make a point with their Cherub of the Mist — a film on the red pandas in the Singalila National Park. After the ceremony and a token pub session, we walked under Bristol’s drizzling night sky to our hotels. Supposed to be a 10-minute walk, it took a good half hour as the young brothers chose to open their hearts.

Planet Earth — a BBC production — bagged the Kodak cinematography award that night. We were fascinated by its spectacular footage, using high definition (HD) cameras, helicopters and a battery of seasoned cameramen (so many that they didn’t fit on stage). But underlying it all was the anguish of an Indian film-maker who operated on shoestring budgets. With most channels insisting on HD, Indians may soon find it hard to compete.

“One HD cam with lenses cost over a crore of rupees. Bedi brothers may still manage to buy one but what about the others? Besides, what happens to our archive of non-HD footage?” Ajay was not sure. His brother tells us that Indian film-makers were usually offered half the amount for similar projects by top channels. Besides, “recently in Ladakh, people told me a foreign unit had gifted video cams to the local helps besides cash awards for each wild sighting. Now these locals expect similar incentives from us which we just can’t afford,” said Ajay.

Vijay claimed there existed a not-so-invisible glass ceiling: “Ajay’s film (The Policing Langur) got a Panda last time in the promising film-maker category. But no one here come forward to commission him any film.” The drizzle turned into rain and the brothers braced themselves up: “They have the money. We have the skills. It’s a big challenge. We will fight it out.”

... contd.