Oscars 2023: “The Elephant Whisperers” Won Best Documentary Short Film Award, Creates History For India

It is a proud moment for India to announce that “The Elephant Whisperers“, a Netflix documentary short movie, won the Oscar as well along with, ‘Naatu Naatu’ song from highly-acclaimed ‘RRR’ movie. This short movie won an award for “Best Documentary Short” at the 95th edition of the Oscars. The two key women behind the movie are Guneet Monga and Kartiki Gonsalves.

The movie triumphed over a crowded field that included other nominations like “The Martha Mitchell Effect,” “Stranger At The Gate”, “Haulout,” and “How Do You Measure a Year?.” Gonsalves referred to her country, India as her “motherland” in her dedication to the honor. Given that it is the first Oscar victory for an Indian production, this is a historic accomplishment.

“The Elephant Whisperers”, the movie directed and produced by Guneet Monga and Achin Jain, depicts the voyage of a household that adopts two baby elephants who are orphans from the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve of Tamil Nadu. The 41-minute movie, which marks Gonsalves’ directing debut, is a lovely examination of the bond between animals and human beings.

Guneet Monga’s Excitement for the Award

In a post on Instagram, Guneet described “The Elephant Whisperers” as a “giant-sized” story that succeeds in becoming a representation of unwavering love. Producer Guneet expressed her surprise on Twitter, writing that they had just won the first Oscar for an Indian production. This was carried out by two women! They continue to tremble.

What Kartiki Gonsalves has to say on “The Elephant Whisperers”

Gonsalves revealed during a discussion about the making of the movie that she tracked Raghu’s narrative for five years and recorded over 450 hours of video. She continued by saying that perseverance was required for such a project because private moments like “Bellie telling Ammu to sit down next to her” couldn’t be planned. The depiction of the respect of both local people and the elephants who have coexisted with them for millennia in “The Elephant Whisperers” has garnered high appreciation.