Monday morning dawned in India with Indians overwhelmed with pride and contentment with the documentary ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ scripting history for winning India’s first production triumph in the 95th ‘Oscars’ in the category,’ Best Documentary Short’. It is the third film to get a nomination, after The House That Ananda Built in 1969 and An Encounter With Faces in 1979, both of which competed for Best Documentary Short.
The ecstatic moment
The nation is euphoric with The Elephant Whisperers, a Netflix documentary with a duration of 41 minutes short by Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga, for having won the 95th Academy Awards for the Best Documentary Short category. Both the director and the producer set an example for upcoming female directors that nothing is insurmountable in the film industry for women and honoured the award to their homeland India. In an Instagram post, Guneet said that this night was a historic event since it is the first time an Indian production has ever won an Oscar. The movie went up against Stranger At The Gate, How Do You Measure a Year?, Haulout, and the Martha Mitchell Effect.
Plot
Bomman and Belli, a native couple, are the main characters of the Tamil documentary. Raghu, an orphaned young elephant, is donated to them. They go to tremendous lengths to make sure the weak, damaged baby lives and matures into a healthy adolescent animal. The couple and the elephant grow to have a close relationship which plays a huge significance in the theme of animal conservation.
Significance of conservation and coexistence
The documentary emphasizes the area’s natural splendor while taking place in the Mudumalai National Park in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It investigates how indigenous people live in peace with nature. The movie not only tells a moving tale of an animal-human friendship and peaceful cohabitation, but it also provides a glimpse into Indian tradition and culture. The documentary is in general based on true events.
Acceptance speech at Oscars
In her acceptance speech at the Oscars, Gonsalves emphasized the importance of the connection humans have with the natural world and the need to respect indigenous populations. She underscored the need to have compassion for all living things with whom we share the planet and the need for cohabitation. She also showcased her gratitude to the Academy for honouring her film, which included a native touch. She also gave her hearty thanks to Netflix for seeing the documentary has an effective potential to present a social message.
The director showed her utmost appreciation to Bomman and Belli who play the pivotal role in the documentary and imparted their priceless tribal knowledge to Guneet, the producer without whom the documentary wouldn’t have been possible to be directed. Kartiki Gonsalves followed a human-elephant hybrid family who belonged to the Kattunayakan tribe for five years.
Twist of events
In a major twist of events, Raghu and Ammu, the two tuskers featured in the documentary, vanished when the country was celebrating the success of the Tamil documentary, The Elephant Whisperers. The elephant’s keeper, Bomman reported that a group of guys pursued both the elephants into the Krishnagiri jungle yesterday as a result of which was still unable to find the elephants. The active search for the elephants is happening with the hope that the elephants would be found.
Accolades & Acclaims
The short film was nominated for Hollywood Music in Media Awards and IDA Documentary Awards and was also shortlisted by DOC NYC under the “Shorts: Change Maker” category and was premiered there, enabling people from across the globe to see the heartwarming tale of the couple and their pet elephant. The movie has won a lot of praise from critics and viewers alike for its stunning cinematography, heartfelt plot, and strong message on the value of compassion and understanding in India.
