Rhino The Indian Unicorn

Spoken Hindi/English/24mins/2002
Producer: Naresh Bedi, Bedi Films

Subject Focus: Conservation of the Indian Rhino.

Summary: In the grasslands of Kaziranga National Park in India’s Northeast, roams the ‘unicorn’, the Great Indian one-horned rhinoceros. With about three thousand rhinos left, this primeval animal is highly endangered. The horn of the rhinoceros is said to possess aphrodisiac properties. Hunters will go to any length to kill a rhino for its horn that sells dearer than gold.The team keeps behind the readied rifle of a park guard as they weave through the tall grasses of the forests tracking rhinos. They get too close to a rhino calf which is sent scurrying for safety by its charging mother. The camera catches the panic of a lone rhino. When the Brahmaputra River swells in the monsoons, the wildlife of the park both large and small, struggle for their lives against the ravage of floods. The team interacts with park officials out on patrol waging a never-ending battle against poachers. Another facet to the park’s staff is seen, as it tenderly rears a newborn rhino calf abandoned by its mother. Rashmi and Vijay feed play and make friends with this charming infant.

Producer’s/Director’s Profile: Naresh Bedi worked as a freelance cameraperson for numerous documentaries and features for leading broadcasters and production houses the world over. Besides his specialized field of specialization, Indian Natural History, he has also worked on a wide spectrum of subjects – culture and religion, agriculture and astrology, architecture and anthropology. He has also worked as a B unit camera on some of the famous Box office productions. He has received 11 awards and citations for the films he photographed, produced and directed. His awards include Best Wildlife Cameraman at International Wildlife Film and Television Festival Wildscreen 1984 for The Ganges Gharial and a nomination for British Academy Awards for Saving the Tiger/ Man Eating Tigers in 1987.