Director Kartiki Gonsalves is proud as Bomman & Bellie gets honoured by Tamilnadu govt

Days after The Elephant Whisperers won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film, the tribal couple Bomman and Bellie, who inspired the documentary, got felicitated by the Tamil Nadu government on March 15. The state's chief minister honoured Bomman and Bellie in Chennai. Director Kartiki Gonsalves took to Twitter to extend her congratulations to the husband-wife duo.

Kartiki, who received the Oscar for the documentary, wrote in a tweet, "Overjoyed and so proud to see Bomman & Bellie honoured by our honourable Chief Minister @mkstalin after The Elephant Whisperers won the first academy award for India for an independent film at 95th Academy Awards @supriyasahuias @EarthSpectrum @TheAcademy @netflix @sikhyaent.” 

Check out the tweet here: 

Overjoyed and so proud to see Bomman & Bellie honoured by our honourable Chief Minister @mkstalin after ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ won the first academy award for India for an independent film at 95th Academy Awards@supriyasahuias @EarthSpectrum @TheAcademy @netflix @sikhyaent https://t.co/NbbsI9EWlp

— Kartiki Gonsalves (@EarthSpectrum) March 15, 2023

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin honoured the couple and presented them with awards totaling Rs. 1 lakh each. All 91 employees at the state's two elephant camps received a 1 lakh rupee award from the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Moreover, eco-friendly and culturally considerate housing will be provided for the elephant camps' staff. In Coimbatore, a new camp would be established, as announced by Mr. Stalin.

More about The Elephant Whisperers

The Elephant Whisperers is based on an orphaned elephant calf named Raghu, his mahout Bomman, and his caregiver Bellie Amma. The couple Bomman and Bellie, who are from the Kattunayakan tribal community, raise orphaned elephant calves. The documentary short film was competing against How Do You Measure a Year?, Haulout, The Martha Mitchell Effect, and Stranger At The Gate at the Oscars. Director Kartiki Gonsalves accepted this award with producer Guneet Monga and gave an acceptance speech alongside her.