Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin congratulated and honoured Kartiki Gonsalves, the director of The Elephant Whisperers, which won Best Documentary Short at the Oscars ceremony held recently. He honoured the director with a cash prize of Rs 1 crore, for bringing pride to the Tamil Nadu government. 

Sharing the news on Twitter, CM Stalin wrote in Tamil, "I appreciated the director of The Elephant Whisperers, Kartiki Gonsalves who grew up in Ooty and took the elephant conservation efforts of our Tamil Nadu government up to Academy Awards. I also gave Rs.1 crore as an incentive."

The Elephant Whisperers is produced by Guneet Monga under Sikhya Entertainment. Set in the Theppaku Elephant Camp, it follows the lives of the two caretakers who take two calves Raghu and Ammukutty under their wings. Beyond talking about this, the documentary also throws light on the indigenous tribe and their lifestyle, destigmatising late and widow remarriage and the human-animal relationship.

Previously, Chief Minister MK Stalin also congratulated and felicitated Bomman and Bellie, the caretakers who were featured in The Elephant Whisperers.