Bomman and Bellie were the very first people to watch the documentary: Kartiki Gonsalves 

It’s been more than 24 hours since India made a glorious representation at the Oscars 2023 by taking home two awards back home. With one of them being documentary The Elephant Whisperers, which bagged under the category Best documentary Short, reports were doing rounds that the elephant caretakers featured in it are yet to see the documentary.

However, dismissing the claims, Kartiki Gonsalves, who directed and also worked as one of the cinematographers in the documentary said that the caretakers have seen the film and was in fact, among the firsts to watch it. Taking to Twitter, she wrote “I’d like to address that Bomman and Bellie were the very first people to watch the documentary at a special viewing by me. They live in the core area of the forest and do not have access to streaming channels.”

The Elephant Whisperers is set in the Theppakadu Elephant Camp and follows the lives of two caretakers Bomman and Bellie who take two elephant calves Raghu and Ammukutty under their wings. The documentary also explores the human-animal relationship, the wilderness of nature, the culture of indigenous tribe.

The documentary is produced by Guneet Monga and is available for streaming on Netflix.