Oscars 2023: India's Guneet Monga, Kartiki Gonsalves win award for 'The Elephant Whisperers'
The Elephant Whisperers, directed by Guneet Monga, has been nominated for an Oscar in the Best Documentary Short category in 2023. The short film won the award in the category.
FollowThe Elephant Whisperers wins Best Documentary Short Film at the 2023 Academy Awards, making India history. The film was nominated with Jay Rosenblatt's How Do You Measure A Year, Haulout, The Martha Mitchell Effect, Stranger at the Gate, and How Do You Measure A Year?
The Elephant Whisperers is a moving story of a South Indian couple, Bomman and Bellie, who devote their life to caring for Raghu, an orphaned young elephant. Karan Thapliyal, Krish Makhija, Anand Bansal, and Kartiki Gonsalves masterfully depicted the familial ties between the human and animal worlds in the documentary.
Guneet Monga discussed the nomination in an interview. "I've been incredibly appreciative for the entire trip," she remarked. We wanted to reach out to the world, and the Oscar nomination has certainly brought a lot of attention to our efforts throughout the world. Netflix has been a tremendous help. Kartiki (Gonsalves) has accomplished what she set out to do with the film. It's been a very lengthy journey. It's been a delight to spend time with her. The entire globe is watching and discussing our initiative."
Aside from The Elephant Whisperers, India is nominated for two other Oscars: Best Original Song, for which RRR's smash hit Naatu Naatu has been nominated, and Best Documentary Feature Film, for All That Breathes.
The 95th Academy Awards were a watershed moment for Indians. Apart from the nominations, Suriya made India proud by being nominated as an Oscar member this year. He was also granted voting rights. Meanwhile, Deepika Padukone was appointed a presenter this year, making her the third Indian celebrity to do so.
