India At Oscars: Who is Kartiki Gonsalves? The Elephant Whisperers director

Kartik Gonsalves' The Elephant Whisperers creates history by becoming the first Indian Documentary Short Film to win the Oscars. The award ceremony was held on March 13 EST at Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. 

Who is Kartiki Gonsalves?

Though Kartiki has a diverse portfolio, she can be best described as an Indian Natural History, Social Documentary photojournalist and filmmaker. The Elephant Whisperers is her directorial debut. She lives in the Nilgiris and Mumbai. All her work, across themes focuses on enabling conservation and spreading awareness. 

Themes in Kartiki's work 

Kartiki describes her work as an intermingling of exploring nature, environment and wildlife. She is currently working on a project involving the wildcats on the Western Ghats, before which she worked on local traditional artists of the Adivasi and Biel communities.

How did Kartiki end up making The Elephant Whisperers?

Kartiki had shared how she had been to the sanctuary when she was 3-years-old. However, a chance spotting of Bomman with elephant Raghu is what sparked her interest in them and she thought of exploring the concept in a film. She was invited over by Bomman immediately and she recalled witnessing a very rare and beautiful bond between the two. She also said she had no intentions to make a documentary right away. Now, her film is in the race for an Oscar.

The director and her team await news of a potential victory at the 95th Academy Awards, which can be streamed in India on March 13, 5.30 am onwards on Disney+Hotstar.