The Elephant Whisperers

The Elephant Whisperers is a 2022 Indian documentary film directed by Kartiki Gonsalves. The documentary is about the bond that develops between a couple and an orphaned baby elephant, Raghu, who was entrusted to their care. The film is produced by Mumbai based production house Sikhya Entertainment, led by Guneet Monga Kapoor and Achin Jain.

The film had its world premiere on 9 November 2022 at Doc NYC Film Festival, a film festival for documentaries in the United States. It was released by Netflix globally on 8 December 2022 for streaming. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film at the 95th Academy Awards, making it the first Indian film to win an Academy Award in that category, surpassing other nominees such as Stranger at the Gate and How do you Measure a Year?.

Plot
Set in the Mudumalai National Park in the border of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states of India, The Elephant Whisperers tells the story of an indigenous couple named Bomman and Bellie who are entrusted with an orphaned baby Indian elephant named Raghu. They take great pains to ensure that the fragile, injured infant survives and grows to be a healthy juvenile. A strong bond develops between the couple and the elephant. They adopt another elephant Ammukutty and eventually have to give up Raghu.

Production


The documentary follows the story of Bomman and Bellie, elephant caretakers belonging to the Kattunayakan tribe. Director Kartiki Gonsalves stated, "I met Raghu when he was exactly three months old," she added, "I spent about a year and a half with him when he was a tiny baby before this became a documentary."

The team spent nearly five years living the ongoing story of these caregivers and their baby elephant, working in a verite mode of letting the daily life and events of Bomman and Bellie tell the story of a life of an orphaned baby elephant (and his sudden unlikely sister, Amu!).

Our intention in the process of documenting the journey of the protagonists was to create a fully immersive experience of the traditional elephant caregiver mahouts of southern India, in a way that honours the lifestyle and traditions of the Kattunayakan people, an ancient tribal community that Bomman and Bellie belong to who have been living with elephants for centuries.

The documentary looked at the scientific aspects of elephant rescue and rehabilitation while emphasising on the traditional practices of calf rearing. Wildlife Biologist, Dr. Sreedhar Vijayakrishnan who has been studying elephant behaviour in the wild and in captivity, was the scientific advisor of the documentary.

Reception
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes website, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10.

Romey Norton of Ready Steady Cut rated the film 3.5 out of 5 and said that "It packs a small punch and is definitely worth the watch, especially if you love elephants." Poulomi Das, reviewing for Firstpost, wrote that the "narrative is fairly straightforward, [and] the storytelling manages to be simultaneously gentle and persuasive." Praising the cinematography, Das wrote "the film is elevated by its stunning cinematography." Das opined that "Much of the beauty of the film lies in the understated coming-of-age of the film’s narrative that draws ample parallels between humans and animals." Das said that The Elephant Whisperers "is ultimately a love-story about the power of community," and concluded by saying, "the film champions the dignity of — all kinds of — life." Manjeet Singh of Leisure Byte, reviewing the film, praised it, writing, "the complete documentary appears more like an experience that needs to be felt, than rather just to be seen." Singh opined that "The docufilm is capable of making you cry, or even sob" and it is "the finest presentation of the year." Outlook India wrote that the film is not just a heart-touching story of a bond between animal and human and co-existence, but also showcases Indian culture and tradition of environment conservation.

Controversy
In an interview with The Hindu, the tribal couple 'Bomman and Bellie' said they were exploited while shooting the 41-minute documentary. They further allege that the filmmakers did not remunerate them or deliver on the promises made, and that the director, who was amiable during the shoot, became distant after the movie won fame. All of these claims have been denied by the filmmakers. Bomman subsequently backtracked on his complaint in a video reported by India Today. He stated that he did not know who sent the legal notice, nor did he know the advocate or have any evidence.