The Elephant Whisperers scripts history with 1st Oscar for an Indian production
India created history at the 95th Academy Awards. The Elephant Whisperers, directed by Kartiki Gonsalves and produced by Guneet Monga, has won Best Documentary Short Subject at the 95th Academy Awards.
The Elephant Whisperers created history as the first Indian film to win an Oscar in this category and the third to be nominated after The House That Ananda Built in 1969 and An Encounter With Faces which competed for Best Documentary Short in 1979 respectively.
Director Kartiki Gonsalves and producer Guneet Monga took the stage to accept the award where Kartiki gave an impassioned speech thanking the Academy for accepting their film. Guneet, who recently got married to Sunny Kapoor, took to Instagram to express gratitude for the historic win for India, and wrote in the caption: “Tonight is historic as this is the first ever Oscar for an Indian production and said: “India’s Glory with 2 women. Thank you Mom Dad Guruji Shukrana 🙏🏾 To my Co-Producer Achin Jain, Team Sikhya, Netlflix, Aloke, Sarafina, WME Bash Sanjana. My lovely Husband Sunny. Happy 3 months anniversary baby! Kartiki for bringing & weaving this story. To all the women watching…. The future is audacious and the future is here. Let’s go! Jai hind” On Twitter, Guneet wrote: “We just win the first ever Oscar for an Indian Production! Two women did this! I am still shivering (red heart and elephant emoticons)”
Priyanka Chopra cheered on for the historic win for The Elephant Whisperers on her Instagram Story and wrote: “Yaaaay go @elephantwhisperersmovie @guneetmonga @kartikigonsalves.” The Elephant Whisperers is set in the Mudumalai National Park, and revolves around an orphaned elephant calf named Raghu in the care of , an indigenous couple named Bomman and Belli. The Elephant Whisperers was released on Netflix in December 2022.
In a recent interview with Hindustan Times, Guneet had spoken about the perception of the Indian audience towards documentaries and said: “Documentary world is a newer genre for India but global platforms are pushing it. We are such a star system which is not a bad thing but it is how our industry is built. Documentary per se, the format is new for consumption but it is now freely available. And, of course, awards help highlighting it. Any kind of award or festival recognition brings validation with it.”
The other nominees in the Documentary Short Film Category against Haul Out, How Do You Measure A Year, The Martha Mitchell Effect, and Stranger At The Gate. Its a special year for India at the Oscars. This time around, not just one, but three significant Indian movies are competing for the coveted Oscars Awards 2023 nominations. RRR is on the shortlist for Best Original Song for the dance song Naatu Naatu, which won the Golden Globe Award in the same category earlier this year. Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes has been nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film and Guneet Monga’s The Elephant Whisperers for Best Documentary Short.