It was a successful haul for the Indian contingent at the Oscar nominations 2023, which were announced earlier today. 

While The Elephant Whisperers made it to the top 5 of the Best Documentary Short, Shaunak Sen's All That Breathes was nominated in the Best Documentary Feature Film category. 

All That Breathes, produced by Aman Mann, Teddy Leifer and Shanuak, follows two brothers who run a bird hospital dedicated to rescuing injured black kites. Incidentally, even in 2022, an Indian documentary, Writing with Fire, was also nominated for the Oscars under the same category.

Talking about the nomination, Shaunak said, "It's extraordinarily difficult to say something that doesn't sound like a cliche. We're utterly besides ourselves with joy and a bit lost for words at this moment. Utterly happy and discombobulated. I want to offer my deepest, most heartfelt thanks to our incredible characters and the whole film team and I am so grateful to the Academy for recognising their work."

Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga's The Elephant Whisperers finds itself in august company featuring the likes of Haulout, How do you measure a year?, The Martha Mitchell Effect and Stranger At The Gate.  

Talking about the film, Kartiki said, "I wanted people to protect elephants, other animals, the landscape, and forests. I also wanted to bring out the indigenous people, and give them a voice."

Apart from The Elephant Whisperers and All That Breathes, Indians had another reason to put on their dancing shoes and rejoice as RRR's Naatu Naatu became the first Indian song to make it to the final cut of the Oscars. The song, written by Chandrabose and composed by MM Keeravani, has been listed in the Best Original Song category.