Indians on Monday woke up to a happy morning as 'The Elephant Whisperers' directed by Kartiki Gonsalves and produced by Guneet Monga won Best Documentary Short Film at the 95th Academy Awards
The Netflix documentary, which was released in December 2022, became the first Indian production to win an Oscar in this category
Interestingly, this isn't the first time that Guneet Monga has brought the Oscar to India. In 2019, Monga's documentary 'Period: End of Sentence' by Iranian American filmmaker Rayka Zehtabchi bagged the Oscar in the Documentary Short Subject
Indian film producer Monga has also been associated with projects such as 'Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1', 'Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2', 'Peddlers', 'The Lunchbox', 'Masaan', 'Zubaan' and 'Pagglait'
The Elephant Whisperers is Kartiki Gonsalves' directorial debut and it managed to create history on a global stage. The film revolves around an orphaned elephant calf named Raghu in the care of an indigenous couple named Bomman and Belli
Kartiki Gonsalves is a photojournalist and filmmaker based out of Mumbai, whose work focuses on wildlife, environment and nature. She also explores cultures, communities, and animals
The Oscar winning director of the documentary dedicated her big win to "motherland India". Kartiki Gonsalves thanked the academy for recognising the film, and her producer Guneet Monga as well as the entire team of The Elephant Whisperers
Kartiki Gonsalves reportedly shot the story of the indigenous couple on her phone, a GoPro, and then a DSLR camera. She reportedly had 400 hours of footage, which was finally edited to 40 minutes
Reacting to the win, producer Guneet Monga tweeted, "We just won the first ever Oscar for an Indian Production! Two women did this! I am still shivering"