The Elephant Whisperers is a docufilm that revolves around a tribal couple of South India, Bellie and Bomman, who look after a baby elephant Raghu as one of their own children. The documentary is directed by Kartiki Gonsalves and produced by Guneet Monga under the banner of Sikhya Entertainment.
Anand Bansal, Kartiki Gonsalves, Krish Makhija, and Karan Thapliyal serve as the cinematographer of the docufilm while Douglas Blush and Sanchari Das Mollick head the editing department. Furthermore, Sven Faulconer has given the music for the project, which has a total runtime of forty-one minutes.
-The Elephant Whisperers Review Does Not Contain Spoilers-
The documentary starts with the introduction of Bomman and Bellie, two tribal natives of the Theppakadu Elephant Camp (the oldest Asian Camp for Elephants situated in Tamil Nadu) and leads into the trajectory of their day-to-day activities. Most of these revolve around a baby elephant named Raghu, who has been an integral part of the couple’s life.
Throughout the docufilm, we also get to see the innate details of Raghu’s daily routine, including his feeding habits, scrubbing session and delightful bamboo devouring. Followed by a mesmerizing trance of Raghu playing with the couple, during the daytime. And of course, his innocent yet notorious attempt to splash water at the couple.
The entire feature is a commentary on the conversation of the forest and its habitants, including the most vital indigenous residents. It presents a delicate connection between the sorrows and happiness of the elephants and their caretakers. And evokes a strong sense of shared humanity between the two.
Moreover, the frames of Kartiki Gonsalves blur the line between human and animal interaction and turns it into a story about individual love, more than anything. At one point, when Bellie describes her emotional state after the devastating death of her daughter, she mentions that it was Raghu, who gently swiped her tears with his trunk. Perhaps, it is moments like these that actually transcend camera-recorded footage into heart-wrenching stories.
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The docufilm is capable of making you cry, or even sob during the separation scene, and is clearly the finest presentation of the year. There is a particular scene where Bomman and Bellie get married in the documentary and stand alongside Raghu and Ammu (the newly assigned baby elephant for rescue), for a family portrait. The moment itself defines wholesomeness and feels too good to be true. In fact, the complete documentary appears more like an experience, that needs to be felt, than rather just to be seen.
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The Elephant Whisperers Final Thoughts
There is no doubt that this docufilm might be one of the best things that you’ll see this year. It has all the ingredients to make you realize the importance of tribal members and their sacred relationship with the forest. Furthermore, the doc stands up to its critical reputation, and delivers a strong message of love, through the lens of cinema.
You can stream the docufilm on Netflix. Let us know your thoughts about it in the comment section below.
Emotional and heartfelt. Happy and sad. Why did the Forest Service take Raghu away from his family!!?? I believe viewers deserve to know. Honest depiction of the love between humans and intelligent animals and the need to keep intact the tribal communities and home lands for both animals and tribes. We as a race (human) are destroying our home planet and that of our children’s. This doc seems to address all of this in a way that inspires and touches the heart.
Fantastic…the relationship between humans and elephants is heart touching. The film beautifully depicted the people of india and their cultures, the film is perfect example of humanity. The unconditional love of animals towards humans is also shown wonderfully. In technicality, the framing and composition of shots were mind blowing. Loved watching it.