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Kartiki Gonsalves, Guneet Monga: 'bosswomen' give docu sector boost with 'The Elephant Whisperers' Oscar win

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Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga

New Delhi: One is a debutante director and the other a seasoned producer. Together, Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga spun Oscar magic to bring home the Academy Award for Documentary Short for their film "The Elephant Whisperers".

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Gonsalves, 36, is a photojournalist based out of the Nilgiris and Mumbai. Monga, 39, who spends her time between Delhi and Mumbai, was executive producer for "Period. End of Sentence", an India-set US production that also won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short in 2019.

"The Elephant Whisperers" and "Naatu Naatu", which won the Oscar for Original Song, are the first India-made productions to win Academy Awards.

The success of their 39-minute film, which is set in Tamil Nadu's Mudumulai National Park and explores the relationship between elephants Raghu and Amu and their tribal caretakers Bomman and Bellie, has put Gonsalves and Monga on the global documentary firmament.

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"I stand here today to speak for the sacred bond between us and our natural world, for the respect of indigenous communities, and empathy towards other living beings we share space with and finally, for coexistence," Gonsalves said in her acceptance speech at Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre on Monday (Sunday night LA time).

Monga, a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences along with her producing partner Achin Jain, was inducted into the Academy in 2018.

She couldn't say anything on stage due to the 45-second cap on acceptance speeches but expressed her happiness soon after on Instagram.

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"Tonight is historic as this is the first ever Oscar for an Indian production. India’s Glory with 2 women (sic)" she wrote.

In a media statement later, the producer said "The Elephant Whisperers" winning the Academy Award is an "incredibly powerful and historical moment".

"We as two women from India, stood on that global stage making this historical win. I’m so proud of this film, and proud of my amazing team at Sikhya Entertainment, that an independent production house from India has made history to be the first ever Indian film by an Indian production to win an Oscar," Monga said in the statement.

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Sharing the victory with director Gonsalves, the producer said her heart is racing with all the joy, love, and excitement in the moment.

"I’m so grateful to Kartiki, the wonderful visionary that she is. Netflix gave us the biggest stage in the world and supported us n believed in us all the way. Today I can say, the future for Indian cinema is audacious, the future is here and not to forget the future is truly female!” she added.

Before "Period...", Monga was executive producer on Lijo Jose Pellissery's "Jallikattu", which was India's official entry to Academy Awards 2021 but did not make the shortlist.

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She also supported "Bittu", a 17-minute film set on the day of the 2013 Bihar school meal poisoning when 23 children died, as executive producer. The Karishma Dube directorial had featured in the Oscars shortlist of the best live-action short film category but couldn't reach the final nominations line-up.

Sikhya Entertainment, the production house co-owned by Monga and Jain, is billed as a homegrown film studio with a global footprint. It has backed celebrated titles such as "The Lunchbox", "Masaan", "What Will People Say", "Monsoon Shootout", and "Pagglait".

Congratulations for the Monga-Gonsalves team poured in from all quarters, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and a host of others such as Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan and A R Rahman.

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"Congratulations to @EarthSpectrum, @guneetm and the entire team of ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ for this honour. Their work wonderfully highlights the importance of sustainable development and living in harmony with nature. #Oscars,” the prime minister said on Twitter.

Rahman referred to the two as "bosswomen".

"Congratulations @guneetm and @EarthSpectrum you’ve opened the flood gates of inspiration for indian film makers! Jai ho.. #bosswomen," he tweeted.

Days before "The Elephant Whisperers" registered the landmark win at the 95th Oscars stage, Monga spoke to PTI about the Indian documentary circuit breaking new ground globally and emphasised the need to back local filmmakers with better resources.

"There is definitely a documentary wave in India. We have incredible filmmakers here. The world is acknowledging that and it needs better structure, better funding. These filmmakers will continue to make India proud and their work is being loved globally," the filmmaker said.

In the same interview, Gonsalves said a vast country like India had stories flourishing in every nook and cranny. "There's a big range of stories from across India, which really have the potential of going out to the world and being loved by audiences across the oceans,” she said.

It was a two out of three win on the scoreboard for the Indian contingent at Oscar 2023. Documentary feature "All That Breathes", directed by Shaunak Sen, couldn't convert its nomination into a win.

The acclaimed climate change documentary, which is yet to be released in India, lost out to American production "Navalny". 

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