Hyderabad: Documentary filmmaker Kartiki Gonsalves and producer Guneet Monga, who made the Oscar award-winning documentary The Elephant Whisperers, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. The Elephant Whisperers' success and cinematic brilliance have attracted praise and attention from all across the world. "Today, I had the chance to meet the outstanding team associated with it. They've really boosted India's pride," said the Prime Minister after meeting the two women.
The award-winning documentary was helmed by Gonsalves and produced by Monga. Earlier this month, The Elephant Whisperers won the Oscar award for best documentary short film at the 95th Academy Awards ceremony. The documentary explores the bond that forms between a couple and Raghu, an orphaned young elephant who was entrusted to their care. It was filmed at Tamil Nadu's Mudumalai Elephant Camp and other isolated forest areas.
Also read: TN CM felicitates 'The Elephant Whisperers director Kartiki Gonsalves
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, earlier this month, felicitated Gonsalves for the award-winning documentary. He praised the filmmaker for bringing fame to Tamil Nadu on a global scale. As a result, the Chief Minister gave the director and producer of the Oscar-winning documentary a certificate of appreciation and a check for Rs 1 crore in honour of bringing pride to the Tamil Nadu government's forest department.
According to a statement from the Chief Minister, the CM's Public Relief Fund has awarded a grant of Rs 1 lakh to 91 elephant mahouts and "Kavadis" working in the Theppakadu elephant camp of MTR and Kozhikammuthi elephant camp of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR). Subsequently, Kartiki Gonsalves spoke to the media and said, "Being awarded the Oscar for Tamil Nadu makes me very happy. It's good to see a documentary that was filmed in a tribal community."
