Naresh Bedi

Naresh Bedi is an Indian filmmaker, the eldest of the Bedi Brothers and a member of the second generation of three generations of Wildlife photographers and filmmakers. He is the first Asian to receive a Wildscreen Panda Award and the first Indian to receive a wildlife film nomination for the British Academy Film Awards. He was honoured by the Government of India in 2015 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.

Biography ...Wild life filmmaking is indeed a good profession to pursue. But one has to be driven by passion. But if someone has money on mind, then I would rather suggest not taking up this profession, says Naresh Bedi. A few more films, two on tiger, one each on elephants, wild dogs and snow leopards, followed before the film, The Ganges Gharial was made in 1983. The film fetched him the Wildscreen Panda Award for the best cinematography in 1984 and was also screened at the Centenary Film Festival 2013.

Bedi's films have been aired by several notable television channels such as BBC, Channel4, Canal Plus and the Discovery Channel. Their work, Sadhus: India's Holy Men, was premiered on BBC. His other mainstream engagements were with Richard Attenborough for a 50-minute promotional film shot for the biopic, Gandhi and with David Lean for a promotional film for A Passage to India. His documentary, Cherub of the Mist, is reported to be the first conservation film about the red panda.

Bedi is reported to have filmed several rare wildlife moments such as the first recording of the reproduction of gharials, nursing, multiple mating and leopard hunting of tigers and breeding of bar-headed geese. co-authored by his brother, Rajesh Bedi, such as India's Wild Wonders, apart from several films he has produced so far. and have won the Wildscreen Panda Award in 2004 for their film, The Policing Langur.

Filmography Bij de beesten af (Ape and Super Ape) (1972) – Movie Documentary – additional cinematographer Flying Prince of Wildlife (1975) – Documentary – cinematography Saving The Tiger (1987) – Documentary – director Man – Eating Tiger (1987) – Documentary – director Whistling Hunter (1989) – Documentary – director Cobra – The Snake God – Documentary – director Ganesh – The Elephant God (1990) – Documentary – director Ladakh -The Forbidden Wilderness – Documentary – director Ladakh -Desert in the Skies (1995) – Documentary – director The Peacock Spring (1996) – Feature film – additional cinematographer Wild Screen Panda Award, International Wildlife Film Festival Award, Wildlife Asia Award and International Wild Track Africa award. He has also won the Whale Award at the Wildlife Asia Film Festival, Singapore for his contribution to wildlife films. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 2015.