Film review- The Elephant Whisperers
You might be already aware of the majestic looks and the intelligence of our giant friends. Ever wondered how it feels to pet an animal as big as an elephant that has been orphaned or separated from its herd?
This short documentary movie “The Elephant Whisperers” is based on a special bond shared between a couple, Mahout Bomman and Bellie and two baby calves, Raghu and Ammu. The movie directed by Kartiki Gonsalves and produced by Guneet Monga, has won Best Documentary Short Subject at the 95th Academy Awards. This is the first Indian film to win an Oscar in this category and the third to be nominated after The House That Ananda Built and An Encounter With Faces.
The movie is based on a real-life story from Tamil Nadu’s Mudumalai reserve, where Bomman and his wife Bellie were appointed by the Forest department to foster Raghu whose mother got electrocuted and died instantly. This movie gives the audience a visual experience of the joys and challenges of fostering a baby elephant.
This is a heartwarming movie which was able to hold the viewer’s attention for the whole 40 minutes. There were several scenes which were able to bring a smile to my face. The producers of the movie were able to bring up the underlying issue of animal-human conflict, which the people in rural areas face every day. Due to climate change and continuous deforestation, forest areas are reducing exponentially which pushes the wild animals to move towards the villages in search of food, endangering the lives and property of the human settlement as well as putting a risk on the lives of these wild animals.
Apart from the lovely bond the couple shares with the elephants (Raghu and Ammu), the movie also shows how these elephants were able to bring together the elderly couple in marrying each other. The culture and the tradition of these forest dwellers were also reflected in this short movie. In a wrap, this movie was a feel-good movie, the cinematography and the storytelling were spectacular. I would recommend you, watch this movie at least once.
