‘The Elephant Whisperers’ wins in the Best Documentary Short category at Oscars

Indian producer Guneet Monga wins her second Oscar in the same category; her first was for "Period. End of Sentence" at the 91st Academy Awards.

ByShashiprasad S M | Vinodh Arulappan

Published Mar 13, 2023 | 10:38 AMUpdatedMar 13, 2023 | 2:14 PM

still the elephant whisperers

Even before “Naatu Naatu” from RRR created history at the 95th Academy Academy Awards, bringing home the first-ever Oscar in the Music Category (Original Song), it was Elephant Whisperers which won the award for Best Documentary Short film.

Set in the Madumalai National Park at the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, the documentary directed by Kartiki Gonsalves showcases the bond between a couple (Bomman and Bellie) and an abandoned baby elephant.

It competed with four nominees in the category, including Haulout, The Martha Mitchell Effect, Stranger At The Gate, and How Do You Measure A Year?

The Elephant Whisperers is the second documentary short film from India that won the Academy Award in this category. Earlier, at the 91st Oscars, Period. End of Sentence produced by Guneet Monga bagged the award in the best documentary short film category.

Related: ‘Naatu Naatu’ from ‘RRR’ wins Oscar for best original song

This is the second Academy Award for Guneet Monga as a producer. Period. End of Sentence is based on menstruation set in rural India.

Wishes pour in

Meanwhile, wishes started pouring in after the 41-minute documentary directed by Kartiki Gonsalves, The Elephant Whisperers, won gthe Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

Union Minister for Environment and Forest Bupender Yadav tweeted that “it’s a proud day for India and the documentary is a compelling ode to human-wildlife coexistence, a uniquely Indian way of living.”

Chief Minister MK Stalin, on his Twitter handle, congratulated the team for winning the Academy award.

“No better news to wake up to than two women bringing the first-ever Oscar for an Indian Production,” he said.

Supriya Sahu, the Additional Chief Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department tweeted that it is a “proud moment for Tamil Nadu Forest Department.”

She also stated that the documentary tells the world about great strides being made in India and Tamil Nadu in elephant conservation.

Former Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu in his tweet said that “They (Bomman and Bellie) have lived up to the saying “Preserve culture & protect nature for a better future.”

Congress leader Sashi Tharoor said that he is so thrilled that a film from India about elephants just won the short documentary, Oscar!