Oscar for ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ could make the path for other documentary makers a little less difficult
Indian documentaries have been receiving global recognition. But documentary makers in India remain short of resources and support
For India, the real surprise was the Oscar won by The Elephant Whisperers, the directorial debut of Ooty-based photographer-turned-filmmaker Kartiki Gonsalves. Given the incredible year that S S Rajamouli’s RRR has had, there was, perhaps, very little doubt that it would win the sole category in which it was nominated at the 95th Academy Awards. ‘Naatu Naatu’ by composer M M Keeravani and lyricist Chandrabose was the strongest contender in its category, even considering the other nominees. For India, then, the real surprise was the Oscar won by The Elephant Whisperers, the directorial debut of Ooty-based photographer-turned-filmmaker Kartiki Gonsalves. The 41-minute film beat four other contenders to clinch the statuette in the Best Documentary Short Category, making it the first Indian documentary and one of only two Indian productions to win an Oscar (the other one being RRR). “The future is audacious and the future is here,” the film’s producer Guneet Monga tweeted after she had triumphantly held aloft the statuette at LA’s Dolby Theatre.
The Elephant Whisperers follows the story of a young orphaned elephant, Raghu, and his two human “parents”, Bomman and Bellie, in Tamil Nadu’s Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. Taking full advantage of the forest’s natural beauty, and shot almost exclusively in natural light, the film’s stunning visuals complement Gonsalves’s gentle, exposition-free storytelling. While the tragedy that undergirds Raghu’s story — his mother was electrocuted when she went looking for food during a prolonged period of drought in the region — is never hidden, Gonsalves retains a tight focus on the love and hope that Bomman and Bellie come to represent in his life. Not surprisingly, the most moving scenes in the film have little dialogue, often featuring Raghu — or, later, his “sister” Ammu — sitting with one of the human caretakers in silent companionship. It’s a heartwarming portrayal of an inter-species bond, a talisman of hope at a time when stories from and about the natural world are — with good reason — far gloomier.
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