Bomman and Belli who were seen in the Oscar-winning documentary film, The Elephant Whisperers, met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday at the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu. The Prime Minister visited the tiger reserve and spent time with the couple at the Theppakadu elephant camp.
Images from the visit were shared on Twitter by the official handle of BJP. They captioned the post, “PM Shri @narendramodi met 'The Elephant Whisperers' couple Bomman and Bellie at Theppakadu Elephant Camp.” In one of the snaps, the couple can be seen greeting Narendra Modi with folded hands. Another picture featured the Prime Minister smiling as an elephant kept its trunk on his chest, as Bomman and Bellie looked on.
The Prime Minster met the producer and the director of the film, Guneet Monga and Kartiki Gonsalves and congratulated them on the achievement. He tweeted after the meeting. “The cinematic brilliance and success of The Elephant Whisperers has drawn global attention as well as acclaim. Today, I had the opportunity to meet the brilliant team associated with it. They have made India very proud. @guneetm @EarthSpectrum.”
Kartiki and Guneet also met President Droupadi Murmu, who congratulated them for exemplifying India's heritage of conservation and coexistence with the environment. Tweeting pictures from the meet, the official account of Rashtrapati Bhavan wrote, “President Droupadi Murmu met the makers of Oscar-winning documentary The Elephant Whisperers, Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga. She congratulated them on winning the award and praised them for showcasing India's tradition of conservation and living in harmony with nature.”
The Elephant Whisperers, a short documentary film produced by Guneet and Kartiki Gonsalves, won the Best Documentary Short Film Oscar. The movie narrates the story of two orphaned elephant calves cared for by mahouts Bomman and Bellie in Tamil Nadu's Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.