Bomman and Bellie with the Oscar. (courtesy: kartikigonsalves)
Last week, director Kartiki Gonsalves created history at the 95th Academy Awards with her documentary The Elephant Whisperers. The project won the an Oscar in the Best Documentary Short Subject category. Set in the Mudumalai National Park in Tamil Nadu, The Elephant Whisperers follows the story of an orphaned elephant calf named Raghu in the care of Bomman and Bellie, an indigenous couple. The documentary celebrates the bond that develops between them as well as the natural beauty and cultural relevance of their surroundings. Now, days after the Oscar win, Kartiki Gonsalves has met with Bomman and Bellie. The filmmaker even shared a lovely image of the happy couple posing with the statuette.
Sharing the heart-warming photo, Kartiki Gonsalves wrote: “It's been a long four months since we've been apart and now I feel like I'm home…” Needless to say, the lovely image has won the internet over. Composer Vishal Dadlani said, “Easily my favourite Oscars picture ever.” Esha Gupta replied with heart emojis while Aahana Kumra said, “Oh my god.”
Take a look at the image here:
Meanwhile, in her winning speech, Kartiki Gonsalves said, "I stand here today to speak on the sacred bond between us and our natural world. For the respect of indigenous communities. For entity towards other living beings, we share our space with. And finally for coexistence. Thank you to the academy for recognizing our film highlighting indigenous people and animals. To Netflix for believing in the power of this film. To Guneet, my Producer and my entire team and finally, to my mother, father and sister who are up there somewhere, you're the centre of my universe. To my motherland India."
After her win, Kartiki Gonsalves also reposted a lovely image with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and the team of the project. The caption read: “What an incredible Oscar night! Congratulations to the teams who made Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, All Quiet on the Western Front, and The Elephant Whisperers. A big shout out to Bomman and Bellie, Raghu and Ammu from The Elephant Whisperers whose story has touched the world.”
Other documentaries that were nominated in the same category were Haulout, How Do You Measure A Year?, The Martha Mitchell Effect and Stranger At The Gate.