TN CM felicitates couple featured in ‘The Elephant Whisperers’

New Delhi (India), 16th March 2023: ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ created history by winning the best documentary award during the 2023 Oscars ceremony. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday felicitated Bomman and Belli who were featured in the documentary.

Days after the documentary won the Academy Award, the couple who are the elephant keepers at Mudumalai in the Nilgiris district met the Chief Minister.

According to a press statement, Stalin gave each of them a shield and shawl as tokens of his appreciation. The Chief Minister has also benevolently allocated ₹9.1 crores that will go towards the building of their house.

Furthermore, the elephant camp located in the Anaimalai tiger reserve in Coimbatore district will be upgraded at a cost of Rs 5 crore.

Bomman also spoke to reporters and said, elephant rearing was difficult, and they treated the infant calves with the same respect they did for children.

The Producer of the documentary Guneet Monga said, “,the impact the film has had and the love for the amazing duo of Bomman and Bellie is for me personally as a filmmaker the biggest achievement of all. The impact this news has had and that they’re being recognised, felicitated for their incredible story, their hard work makes me really emotional and happy.”