All eyes on the Golden prize: What will a win at the Oscars mean for India?

As the world looks upon the grandest stage in the world of cinema, a billion people will once again hold their breaths awaiting glory.

Three Indian titles — RRR, All That Breathes, and The Elephant Whisperers — have been nominated under different categories for the 95th Academy Awards. This is by far the most number of nominations from the country to the Oscars. What will this mean for the Indian film industry?

“We have been doing resoundingly well across festivals such as Sundance and Cannes — for consecutive years — and now in Berlin and Toronto,” says All That Breathes maker Shaunak Sen, who is currently in the States for the Oscars, while reflecting on the unprecedented success of Indian documentaries. Competing in the Documentary Feature category, Shaunak’s documentary narrates the tale of two brothers from Delhi who rescue and treat black kites in their basement.

Two of the three nominations from India are for non-fiction titles — signs of a positive shift for an art form that hasn’t received its due. It all started last year when Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas’ Writing with Fire was nominated for the Oscars. There’s also Kartiki Gonsalves’ The Elephant Whisperers competing for the Best Documentary Short Oscar. It narrates a heartwarming tale of a Tamil couple, Bomman and Bellie, who raises an orphaned elephant named Raghu.

This of course isn’t an overnight change. Shaunak credits the works of earlier generations of documentary makers for this welcoming shift. “The works by filmmakers like Deepa Dhanraj, Anand Patwardhan, Supriyo Sen, and Sourav Sarangi have been very formative for all of us. But a lot has clearly transformed.”

Shaunak Sen
| Photo Credit:
Chris Pizzello

Shaunak believes that there will be a real change in how documentaries are funded in India if one of these titles wins. “Foreign distributors and channels will immediately pay more attention. More audiences will get more attuned to stories from South Asia,” he says, adding that more initiatives like DocedgeKolkata, a documentary incubation-cum-pitching forum, will further give docu-filmmaking a push. “But we have to be cautiously optimistic because there is still quite a long way to go in terms of the dissemination infrastructure for non-fiction.”

The ‘RRR’ effect

Of course RRR mania will be most spoken about on Oscar’s eve. The Naatu Naatu track from the SS Rajamouli directorial has been nominated under the Best Original Soundtrack category, a first for an Indian film in history. Though, MM Keeravani won’t be the first Indian music composer to get the Oscar limelight if he wins; AR Rahman already has two in his kitty for Slumdog Millionaire.

To gauge what a win for RRR would do to Indian film music, we need to see what changed post-Rahman’s win in 2009, and singer Hariharan says that it effectively changed the way other Indian composers think. “Rahman brought a change in sound and an international standard to the quality of recording and mixing. The Oscar win percolated this way of thinking to the smaller music directors as well,” he says. A win for Naatu Naatu, Hariharan believes, will boost the popularity of Indian music in the international arena.

Singer Hariharan

Singer Hariharan
| Photo Credit:
RAMESHKURUP S

Keeravani’s music and vocals by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava might have enthralled audiences all over, but the credit for the success of Naatu Naatu, as Keeravani himself said after his Golden Globe win, also goes to the brilliant dance choreography, the visuals, and the actors themselves.

Choreographer Prem Rakshith’s steps for Ram Charan and Jr NTR didn’t just bring British soldiers to the dance floor; theatres across the world turned into a stage. Choreographer Brinda is confident that an Oscar will have one major after-effect on Indian cinema: “There will be an increase in songs and dance in our films,” she declares, adding, “The number of songs in films has been gradually decreasing and now, some of them have only one song. Or lovers of film music have to make do with the background score. A win at the Oscars for Naatu Naatu will change that.”

Songs and dance, as Brinda says, have been an integral part of who we are. “Even when we are leaning back in our seats, a song like Naatu Naatu will get us to sit upright,” she says. Hariharan agrees, stating that this has seeped into the many fragments of our culture. “Normal people, who are not artists, dance and celebrate at weddings; there’s so much music in our lives. The westerners too have started liking it now because a film, even when realistically shot, is a fantasy,” he says. Then adds, “We are different people; we like seeing a hero/heroine, who doesn’t know how to sing, break into a song.”

Dance choreographer-filmmaker Brinda

Dance choreographer-filmmaker Brinda
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The rise of desi-pop culture

When it comes to how films are being consumed, a win at the Oscars will take Indian culture across the globe as it happened to South Korean cinema, says filmmaker Pushkar of the Pushkar-Gayathri filmmaking duo. “It was a very conscious decision on the Koreans’ part. They started with their films and music, and now, we can hear K-Pop everywhere.”

Pushkar says while it is mainly Indians consuming Indian content, even abroad, an Academy Award win will change that. “It’s like what Oldboy and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon did earlier or what Squid Game and Parasite did recently.” Further, Pushkar believes this re-establishment of Indian pop culture to the world will help even the smaller films and not just the big-ticket spectacles.

Pushkar-Gayathri

Pushkar-Gayathri
| Photo Credit:
SRINIVASAN L

On the other hand, Pushkar believes that Indian content will retain its distinctiveness, saying that though it may be tempting to make more homogenous content to please the international audience, “That’s a path I believe we won’t take. I feel we will make our films and the world will start understanding our storytelling method. This will lead to newer markets — not restricted to the presence of the Indian diaspora — opening up to Indian films.”

Pushkar adds that this will also make filmmakers look at the “strengths of our style of storytelling and how we have been traditionally connecting with our audience.” He says, “Film festival routes always lead to a place where it feels like Indian cinema is not aesthetic enough for these festivals and we haven’t had much success there. Even the success we have had have been for our parallel and independent cinema. Our mainstream cinema finding audience across the world will be the biggest benefit of a win.”

Cinema that has come of age

Actor Madhavan, however, believes that though Indian cinema cannot yet compete with Hollywood’s technology or budget, it has come of age. “We don’t need validation from other parts of the world regarding the stories we tell or how we tell,” he states, adding that what the industry really needs now is more funding and more theatres.

Actor Madhavan

Actor Madhavan
| Photo Credit:
TANIA VOLOBUEVA

Interestingly, all three titles that are nominated for the Oscars touch upon ecological preservation directly or indirectly. Shaunak believes that this points towards a positive geist. “All of us are grappling with these issues and the fact that there’s some degree of commonality only indicates how much this is increasingly front and centre in our imagination.” With more awareness regarding climate change, one can certainly hope for more titles that explore this universal issue.

More and better song and dance; newer markets for Indian films; more funding and forums for documentary filmmaking — this Oscar season brings a lot of newfound hope to Indian cinema. May it fly high like a Black Kite, unite us all like Bomman and Bellie, and roar like Bheem.

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How Kartiki Gonsalves Made Oscar-Nominated Documentary The Elephant Whisperers: “Fell In Love With Raghu”

Kartiki Gonsalves’ The Elephant Whisperers is nominated for Oscars. (photo courtesy: Kartiki Gonsalves)

Kartiki Gonsalves, natural history and social documentary photographer-turned-director, has scored an Oscar nomination with her debut film, The Elephant Whisperers. The 40-minute Netflix film, up for an Academy Award in the Documentary Short Film category, is a profoundly moving and enlightening portrait of a couple, Bomman and Bellie, and their deep bond with Raghu and Ammu, two orphaned pachyderms that they raise in the Theppakadu Elephant Camp in Tamil Nadu. By highlighting the forest dwellers’ instinctive affinity with nature and the creatures of the wild, the film showcases the beauty of man and animal working together. The 36-year-old first-time director made The Elephant Whisperers, produced by Guneet Monga’s Sikhya Entertainment, in a forest that is 30 minutes from where she grew up in Ooty. Gonsalves started out as a documentary photojournalist, then turned into a cinematographer and finally became a director. Three weeks ahead of Oscar night, she talks about the process and purpose of The Elephant Whisperers.

Excerpts from the interview:

The Elephant Whisperers is a cross between a heart-warming relationship story and an environmental awareness film. Is that the combination you had in mind from the outset?

Raghu being orphaned is the story’s bittersweet beginning. The Asian elephant is losing its habitat at a very rapid pace due to encroachment and climate change in a fast-developing country like India. There are roughly 35,000-40,000 Asian elephants left. The situation is grim. But I wanted the story to be positive. Why focus on all the depressing parts when there is so much beauty and such an unusual family dynamic. Raghu’s mother was electrocuted and died instantly as she and her herd wandered into a nearby village in search of food and water during a prolonged drought. I wanted people to be able to understand these beautiful beings on a deeper level. I also wanted to show the importance of indigenous people and their knowledge. Most importantly, I wanted to give them a voice. Bomman, Bellie and Raghu share a very special bond. That is what The Elephant Whisperers is about.

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A still from The Elephant Whisperers. (photo courtesy: Kartiki Gonsalves)

Did you spend a lot of time in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and Theppakadu Elephant Camp before the shoot began?

Yes, having grown up in Ooty and living in the heart of the Nilgiri Biosphere reserve, I have been visiting Mudumalai Tiger Reserve ever since I was three years old. I have walked through these very forests on foot and encountered many wild animals like the tiger, leopard and elephants up close with the help of the Kurumbas (an indigenous community). I went on to pursue wildlife photography and lived near the forests, where I would go hiking every morning and afternoon.

How did you discover Bomman, Bellie and Raghu?

In simple words, I fell in love with Raghu. Boman and Bellie are Kattunayakars. They are a forest tribe that inhabits the heart of the forest of the Western Ghats. Their homeland now falls in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Originally hunter gatherers, some have specialized in honey collecting and elephant care. Boman’s father was an elephant carer. His new wife, Bellie, had less knowledge of the forests and a deep fear of wild animals. Bomman, apart from being an elephant caregiver, is also a Hindu temple priest. He worships Ganesha (the elephant God) in temples and looks after elephants in real life. One of his other sources of income is collection of honey.

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Bomman, Bellie in a still from The Elephant Whisperers. (photo courtesy: Kartiki Gonsalves)

How long was The Elephant Whisperers in the making?

Starting off in 2017 when Raggu was only three months old, we finished the documentary in September 2022. I spent a lot of time with him and Bomman and Bellie. Trust was the core of it. We developed an unbreakable bond in the process. Raghu is now almost 6 and Ammu is almost 4. They are both taller than me now. It’s been the most special part of my life. Watching them grow up, I’ve been able understand this magnificent species.

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Raghu in a still from The Elephant Whisperers. (photo courtesy: Kartiki Gonsalves)

To what do you attribute your innate love for the natural world and animals?

I was introduced to nature before I could walk. While many families might more often go out shopping, to the movies, to visit friends and relatives, we headed out to explore the forests, streams, beaches, mountains, zoos, natural history museums and aquariums. I first camped out in a state park when I was only 18 months. My mother was especially interested in animals. My father was a photographer. My grandmother was an amateur naturalist who guided school children through local nature reserves. So, I had a lot of information provided both on nature and on how to photograph it alongside a lot of knowledge on animal behaviour.

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A still from The Elephant Whisperers. (photo courtesy: Kartiki Gonsalves)

I ventured into advertising after my post-graduation. I eventually quit to pursue wildlife and social documentary photography, working as a tour guide to support myself financially. But I soon realized that photography in the area I was interested in didn’t have much scope In India at this time. I realized filmmaking was a tool that I could use to reach out to the world… I believe that strong imagery has the power to change minds. I was a part of the filming crew (one of the camerawomen) for the episode “The Asiatic Black Bear” of the TV series On The Brink for Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. This show focuses on many endangered species across India together with the stories of researchers and scientists involved in protecting them.

Was cinema a part of your life in your formative years?

I am a self-taught filmmaker. Cinema wasn’t a part of my life in my formative years. I would watch a few select movies when I visited my grandparents over the holidays. In fact, we did not even own a television while I was growing up. My parents encouraged my sister and I to read books and explore the outdoors. We got our first television when I was in Class 11.

Do you have any favourite documentary filmmakers?

I admire the work of (cinematographer) Emmanuel Lubezki, Terrence Malick, Louis Psihoyos, Orlando von Einsiedel, Jeff Orlowski, David Attenborough. Gabriela Cowperthwaite, Ron Fricke, to name a few.

How was the musical score of The Elephant Whisperers developed? What was your basic brief to composer Sven Faulconer?

I wanted to begin with conveying the strong emotional connection that I felt to this film. A dear friend Tasmin Vosloo introduced me to Sven Faulconer. It changed the course of everything that lay ahead. Sven was someone who deeply understood my vision and style for this documentary and brought his everything to this. Having worked on so many different films in different styles and scales, Sven instantly understood my desire to make the score more intimate, personal and emotional and steer away from the grandeur that one might typically expect in nature documentaries. My vision for the score was that we had an intimate and unique family dynamic with a lot of love. I did not want to focus on having music that would overpower the beautiful footage that we had. My brief to him was that the music should speak to our audience in a very deep and powerful way – simple with beautiful synergy yet not overpowering. The emotion in Sven Faulconer’s scores can sometimes come from an unexpected minimalist approach, which we actually chose in several scenes in The Elephant Whisperers. One example I would love to talk about is the scene when Raghu gets taken away. Sven and I came to the decision that less is definitely more. The music takes plenty of breaths in those scenes and does not try to ‘push the emotion’ as much. I’d say it’s gently sitting right there with the audience, as if they’re both going through the same experience for the first time together.

What are you working on next?

I will be working on Orca-human relationships next. I am hoping this will open a whole new dimension and perspective on the relationship between man and nature. I also want to delve deeper into the lives of Orcas and unravel the profound connection that the First Nations share with the world’s biggest predator. Both are matriarchal societies. I would like to explore other parallels between the two societies.

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