The Elephant Whisperers: Internet is all hearts for pic of Bomman and Bellie with Oscar trophy

Bomman and Bellie, stars of ‘The Elephant Whisperers’, were seen holding the golden Oscars trophy in a picture shared by Kartiki Gonsalves.

Mar 23, 2023

Social media is all hearts for a picture of Bomman and Bellie, stars of ‘The Elephant Whisperers', holding the golden Oscars trophy. The picture was shared by Kartiki Gonsalves, director of the Oscar-winning documentary, on Instagram this morning.

‘The Elephant Whisperers' created history at the 95th Academy Awards this year by becoming the first Indian production to win the Oscar for best documentary short. Set in the state of Tamil Nadu, ‘The Elephant Whisperers' tells the story of an orphaned elephant calf named Raghu who is put in the care of Bomman and Bellie, a couple from the Kattunayakan tribe.

The 40-minute documentary, directed by Kartiki Gonsalves and produced by Guneet Monga, celebrates the bond that develops between Raghu and his caretakers, Bomman and Bellie, who saw the trophy for the first time earlier this week.

‘The Elephant Whisperers' director Kartiki Gonsalves shared a picture of the couple posing with the golden statuette, wide smiles on their faces. "It's been a long four months since we've been apart and now I feel like I'm home....." she wrote.

The team behind the documentary had earlier faced criticism after some reports suggested that Bomman and Bellie had yet to see the documentary that won India an Oscar. Gonsalves had set the record straight, saying that the couple, who are both in their 50s, had been the first to watch the documentary after it was completed.

"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," she wrote.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin met Bomman and Bellie on March 15 to felicitate the couple. They were given a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.