Bomman and Bellie, protagonists of the Oscar-winning documentary ‘The Elephant Whisperers’, received a special shout-out from the crew on board an IndiGo flight. A video shared by IAS officer Supriya Sahu shows an IndiGo crew member introducing the couple before passengers greet them with rousing applause.
‘The Elephant Whisperers’ created history at the 95th Academy Awards this year by becoming the first Indian production to win the Oscar for best documentary short. Set in the forests of Tamil Nadu, it tells the story of an orphaned elephant calf named Raghu who is put in the care of Bomman and Bellie. The couple, belonging to the Kattunayakan tribe, forged a special bond with Raghu which was documented in the Oscar-winning short.
Bomman and Bellie recently travelled to Ooty on board an IndiGo flight where they received a special shout-out after their historic win. “We have the main team of The Elephant Whisperers on board with us, please give a round of applause,” an IndiGo staffer was seen saying in the video. “Please stand up and let everybody see how lucky we are to have you on board,” he requested Bomman and Bellie, who then stood up from their first-row seats and joined their hands as passengers clapped.
Nice gesture @IndiGo6E #TheElephantsWhisperers #TNForest #BommanBellie pic.twitter.com/szjojWmlFI— Supriya Sahu IAS (@supriyasahuias) March 24, 2023
Bomman and Bellie are currently in Mumbai where, on March 23, they took part in the team’s first press conference since the Oscars. 'The Elephant Whisperers' director Kartiki Gonsalves and producer Guneet Monga were also present at the press meet.
Gonsalves, a photojournalist and explorer, said winning the Oscar was “a surreal moment.”
“I replayed it (the win) in my head a couple of times because I was thinking of all the documentaries that could have won. I realised it was us, it was Bomman and Bellie, the elephants. We hugged each other and then we realised we had to run to the stage, as the clock was ticking and it was more like we need to go speak now. Now is the time to speak to the world,” she said.
(With inputs from PTI)
