The Elephant Whisperers – The documentary that won at Oscars 2023, as BBC News phrases it, is worthy of the world’s greatest praises. Filmmaker Kartiki Gonsalves showcases the stories of the Indigenous people and their relationship with elephants — the land’s most magnificent mammals.
The forty-one-minute masterpiece put India back on the global news platform following its resounding success and applause at the Oscars. “The Elephant Whisperers” establishes that a simple and uncomplicated story, from any part of the world, can win hearts even if it means not knowing the language, culture or traditions.
*Before you read further, here’s a warning: This is not a SPOILER-FREE review!*
Bomman and the Orphaned Elephant
The documentary opens with some of the most breathtaking visuals of the lush forests of Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, a national park located in Tamil Nadu that rehabilitates rogue elephants.
This documentary, however, captures the beautiful relationship between Bomman and Bellie, and the unbreakable bond with a baby elephant, Raghu.
Bomman and Bellie, two elephant caregivers are people of the forest. They receive a task from the forest department – to provide love and nourishment to abandoned elephant calves.
They go above and beyond when it comes to caring for the baby elephants – Raghu and Ammu (who later joins the family).
Raghu’s abandonment is not easy to process throughout the film. The forest department finds Raghu in a miserable state a few years ago. He was attacked by stray dogs, and maggots were feasting on his open wounds.
After many unsuccessful attempts at reuniting Raghu with his family, Raghu came under the care of Bomman and Bellie. Since then, he has been beaming with life.
Booman, 54 comes from a family of elephant caretakers and equates elephants to the gods they worship.
“Without him (Raghu), we’d have nothing,” says Bomman in the documentary, which is such a powerful statement since Bomman is an elephant-attack survivor. He was attacked by a big tusker in the past, but that never stops Bomman from giving his all in caring for Raghu. When it comes to Raghu, Bomman takes care of him as his own child.
In fact, Raghu leaves no leaf unturned when it comes to reciprocating that love to Bomman. It highlights a message that wild elephants can become tame if treated patiently – with love and respect.
This is because many wild elephants have made it to the headlines over the years for wreaking havoc across Indian villages, impeding irrigation and becoming a prime reason for death rates. The documentary touches on this topic very briefly towards the end, highlighting the legitimate reason for this erratic behaviour.
The Mother of Elephants
Bellie, a tribal woman who enjoys walking barefoot around the wild, green forest has experienced many losses in her life. From losing her ex-husband to a tiger and to losing her dear daughter, she’s developed a phobia against the forest.
However, in a soft yet assertive voice she says that “I am a tribal woman, and our people come from the heart of the forest.”
She is part of the Kattunayakan community, a tribal group that, for generations, has devoted itself to caring for elephants. It’s interesting to note that during the course of the documentary Bomman mentions that the forest department never assigns an elephant under the care of a woman with Bellie being the only exception.
It can be devastating and almost inexplicable to lose a family. And that’s why the special bond Bellie shares with both Raghu and Ammu is not possible to ignore. Both the elephant calves feel a heightened sense of safety around Bellie and Bomman throughout the documentary.
The Filmmaker’s Connection with Raghu
Gonsalves’ roots in the local nature reserves go back to her childhood. Coming from a family that has always explored streams, and beaches and embraced natural history museums; a mother who is an avid lover of animals and a father, a keen-eyed photographer, she followed in their footsteps.
After graduating with a degree in visual communications, Gonsalves continued to pursue photography, specializing in wildlife, travel and culture. Although her career took a small U-turn when she explored advertising and other jobs, her heart always yearned to get back to her passion — photographing nature and telling stories of indigenous people and their role in conservation.
A Career Transition
A serendipitous encounter occurs when Gonsalves is in the midst of a career transition. On her way back to her hometown, Ooty, she stops by the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. It is close to the Theppakadu Elephant camp, and that’s when she meets the star of the documentary; a three-month-old calf, Raghu.
“This documentary was made because I fell in love with Raghu first,”
she says in a conversation with NPR.
“The three of us would happily splash along the river, and I would spend hours scrubbing him and rubbing his tongue. He absolutely loves his tongue being rubbed. He enjoyed pulling my hair and splashing around in the water. We would stick our tongues at each other”.
A Match Made by Elephants
Gonsalves captured over 450 hours of raw footage. It is painstakingly filmed over the last five years; and beautifully captures the genuine connection that brews between caregivers, Bomman and Bellie.
During their joint endeavor of caring for orphaned elephants, Bomman and Bellie formed an organic bond. They later tied the knot in the documentary, surrounded by the people living around the reserve and their two dear children – Ragu and Ammu.
During these special moments, you also get to experience the unconditional love between Raghu and Ammu. Raghu is initially reserved when Ammu joins the family. However, he gradually goes on to exhibit protective, older brother behaviour towards Ammu.
In fact, when Raghu is finally a teen, he is transferred into the care of another mahout. This is by the forest department, as Bomman has no experience taking care of grown-up elephants. In this part of the documentary, it is not just Bomman and Bellie feeling that heart-wrenching pain due to separation. It is also baby Ammu who doesn’t consume food for many days and is constantly crying.
Combatting Human-Elephant Conflict
One of the reasons The Elephant Whisperers went on to become a global sensation and raised the stakes in documentary filmmaking was its authenticity and the ‘no-masala’ storyline that showcased the less talked about the indigenous population in a county like India.
Besides, the premise also covers the human-elephant conflict.
Elephants continue to exist in one of history’s greatest infamies as crop destroyers or village invaders. But in truth, elephants tend to make their way to the habitat of human beings primarily due to their crop-raiding behaviours. This is the subject of the documentary. As covered in an article published on Wildlife SOS, here are a few ways to reduce human-elephant conflict:
- developing a stronger partnership between the forest department and local communities,
- maintaining wildlife corridors to keep track of elephant movement and
- being aware of elephant behavior and interactions.
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