Whispers turn to roars! The Elephant Whisperers' wins Oscar for best documentary short

Tamil documentary The Elephant Whisperers, which depicts an unbreakable bond between two abandoned elephants and their caretakers has emerged as the winner at the 95th Academy Awards making it a maiden victory for India in the Documentary Short Subject category. This is filmmaker Gonsalves' directorial debut.

Directed by Kartiki Gonsalves, the Netflix documentary bested "Haulout", "How Do You Measure a Year?", "The Martha Mitchell Effect" and "Stranger at the Gate" to scoop the trophy.

What is the elephant whispers all about?

"The Elephant Whisperers", a 39-minute documentary depicts an unbreakable bond between two abandoned elephants and their caretakers. It is produced by Guneet Monga and Achin Jain of Sikhya Entertainment.

The film features Bomman and Bellie, a couple in Mudumalai National Park in Tamil Nadu, who devote their lives to caring for orphaned baby elephants, Raghu and Ammu, thus, forging a family like no other.

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. Set in the Mudumalai National Park in the beautiful state of Tamil Nadu, the documentary also highlights the natural beauty of the location. It explores the life of the tribal people in harmony with nature.

The film is not just a heart-touching story of a bond between animals and humans and co-existence but also showcases Indian culture and tradition of environment conservation.

Kartiki Gonsalves spent five years following human-elephant blended family belonging to Kattunayakan tribe to make this documentary. As she stated, "I met Raghu [the baby elephant] 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."

After being presented with the honour, Kartiki Gonsalves said, 'I stand here today to speak on the sacred bond between us and our natural world. For the respect of indigenous communities. For entity towards other living beings, we share our space with. And finally for co-existence. Thank you to the academy for recognizing our film highlighting indigenous people and animals."

"To Netflix for believing in the power of this film. To Guneet my Producer and my entire team and finally, to my mother father and sister who are up there somewhere, you're the centre of my universe. To my motherland India," she also said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated the documentary makers for the big win.

"Congratulations to @EarthSpectrum, @guneetm and the entire team of 'The Elephant Whisperers' for this honour. Their work wonderfully highlights the importance of sustainable development and living in harmony with nature. #Oscars (sic)."

Soon after the announceent, the internet was flooded with congratulatory messages. Netflix India wrote, ''Whispers turn to roars! THE ELEPHANT WHISPERERS JUST WON AN OSCAR.''

Bureaucrat Supriya Sahu wrote, ''What fabulous news..India's 'The Elephant Whisperers' wins Oscars award for the Best Documentary Short Film. A proud moment for Tamil Nadu Forest Department.''

''Truly a proud moment for India and Tamil Nadu This true love & the strong bond between the foster parents and the orphaned elephant calf gets one other coveted recognition to Tamil Nadu's conservation efforts and to the Mudumalai Elephant camp," commented Indian Forest Service officer Sudha Ramen.

The Oscars are one of the most prestigious awards ceremonies in the world, and winning an Oscar is considered one of the highest honors in the film industry.