EXCLUSIVE | Oscars 2023: Guneet Monga’s The Elephant Whisperers and Indian documentaries getting the push with OTT

Guneet Monga loves to take risks when it comes to making and producing films. Monga mentions how the story of The Elephant Whisperers came from a personal space. Guneet’s latest film The Elephant Whisperers, directed by Kartiki Gonsalves has been nominated at the 2023 Oscars in the Best Documentary Shorts category. Kartiki Gonsalves is the maker of The Elephant Whispers and she approached Guneet with her film. Guneet says looking at her work, I felt I should do everything possible to support the project. With four films from India in the Oscars shortlist, producer Guneet Monga, who has backed short documentary The Elephant Whisperers, says it is the time for the country’s cinema to shine globally.

For years, India, its diversity, beauty and culture has been an intrigue to the West. When it came to cinema however, over time the ‘song and dance’ took over what people perceived Indian cinema to be. That was until Netflix India’s ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ produced by Guneet Monga and directed by Kartiki Gonsalves came into being. This gem of a documentary that made India proud and won itself an Oscar nomination in the ‘Best Documentary Short’ category is probably the most significant Indian stories to have been recognised by the Academy Awards.

The Elephant Whisperers follows the bond that develops between an indigenous couple and an orphaned baby elephant, Raghu, who was entrusted to their care. Set in the Mudumalai National Park in South India, the documentary also highlights the natural beauty of the location. It explores the life of the tribal people in harmony with nature.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Guneet says how the digital media gives space to more kinds of storytelling and that is the reason independent filmmakers are finding a voice and people like me are getting a chance to produce more and do more, put out their works on the global map for Indian filmmakers and travel with documentary storytelling.

 Edited excerpts from the interview:

Congratulations on the Oscars nomination, how does it feel to see The Elephant Whisperers getting the deserved recognition?

I am just deeply grateful for being a part of it and our work to be seen globally and for the love, for the kind of fan love and attention that we are getting. And literally of course, being in the business for fifteen years producing, and for the kind of love and attention that we are getting so definitely it is real motivation. The film being nominated has put a lot of attention on Elephant Whisperers.

The Elephant Whisperers took five years to shoot. Tell us about the whole experience and process of making and producing the film.

It was a classic experience. You let the story play out and here you see the elephant grow from a tiny to a bigger baby. That’s how you see the progress of the film and the journey. It is amazing I am sure to see five years of work in forty minutes and the progression of the story and the relation of the baby elephant. Our story is about an orphan baby elephant with the backdrop of a love story.

What were your struggles on being an independent woman filmmaker?

Struggle for me is lack of opportunity and at least as a producer I can say that one thing that I am deeply focused on is I definitely want to work with female directors. If not female directors, the most important part of my story has been forwarding female stories in my work. Everything that I lean into as a filmmaker is forwarding a female case. If producers give more backing that is definitely going to change and that is exactly what I am trying to back – the works of good independent woman filmmakers.

Why is it that documentaries in India are not given the kind of recognition like feature films and web series?

Documentaries in India have definitely been happening for many years, but it is definitely a format that is getting more popular with digital platforms like Netflix and Amazon. Netflix has done some incredible work in promoting docuseries. There has been a lot of documentaries and non-fiction work on the OTT platform. Docuseries are new in popular culture. Initially it was just a theatrical business, but now that digital media has come up, it can give space to more kinds of storytelling and that is the reason independent filmmakers are finding a voice and people like me are getting a chance to produce more and do more, put it out on the global map for Indian filmmakers and travel with documentary storytelling. So, it’s a process, the business has evolved and helped documentary filmmakers come up and tell their stories. Documentaries have worked so well around the world, but in India it is relatively very new.

Indian filmmakers still haven’t been able to establish the kind of place it deserved in the Oscars. What is the reason behind it?

It is a whole lot of things. I think at the Oscars having an American distributor is very important, having your film released and seen in the US, covered by mainstream media, seen and celebrated there is very important. So, it is not an overnight thing. You don’t get to Oscars overnight. That’s never going to happen. One needs to see the progress and the distribution of the film which is really important. For so many years we have distributed our films to NRI audiences and that doesn’t make the mainstream America or non-Indians look into American content.

Having an American distributor is very important. Lunchbox is a classic case that did break out because it had an American distributor. So there are many reasons because feature films are selected by a body in India and I think the key that body has to see is to have an American distribution. This year I think RRR has done one of the most incredible jobs in being seen and making all of us see it. The marketing campaign that RRR has done is absolutely mind-blowing. Everybody is cheering and celebrating RRR. It has captured the imagination of the people. So, there are many folds.

First it has to be a brilliant film from India that needs to travel, that needs to go to festivals and the yearly plan of many festivals in India is also important, having an American distributor and the film being accepted here and globally. This has become possible because of digital platforms and I feel moving forward it will be a better time for India. I am so grateful to be on this journey with the help of Netflix.

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