Producer Guneet Monga made every Indian proud by winning Oscar at the 95th Academy Awards for her documentary The Elephant Whisperers.
Helmed by debutant Kartiki Gonsalves, the 41-minute short documentary movie explores the tentative yet precious bond between Raghu, an orphaned baby elephant, and his caretakers – a mahout couple named Bomman and Bellie – who devote their lives to protect him from poachers and raise him.
The project, which is backed by Guneet’s banner Sikhya Entertainment, 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).
After representing India at the Oscars 2023, Guneet is now back in India.
Speaking to ANI about the historic win, Guneet said, “It was a divine moment when our labour of work was declared winner at the Oscars. It’s a big win for all of us. I hope it inspires a lot of people, not only women but also first-time filmmakers…If we can, anybody can. It is truly encouraging to see people showering abundant love on us.”
Kartiki also expressed her happiness over her Oscar win.
“I thought that with this film we could bring people together to understand elephants through love…Better for people to understand elephants which will enable them to love and help protect them,” she added.
This is the second Oscar win for Guneet. She had previously served as an executive producer on ‘Period. End of Sentence’, which won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film.
