Guneet Monga wanted to take Raghu and Ammu to the Oscars: ‘We used to always say Tux for Raghu, gown for Ammu’

After The Elephant Whisperers won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short at the 95th Academy Awards, Guneet Monga had reacted to the part where her speech was cut out from the stage during the ceremony. In a recent interview, Guneet has now revealed how she originally also intended to thank both Raghu and Ammu, the two calves featured in the film, and even take them to the Oscars. (Also read: Guneet Monga, Kartiki Gonsalves meet President Droupadi Murmu after Oscar win for The Elephant Whisperers)

Guneet won the Oscar along with The Elephant Whisperers director Kartiki Gonsalves. The 41-minute-long documentary movie revolves around the bond between an orphaned baby elephant (named Raghu) and his caretakers – mahout couple Bomman and Bellie. Bomman and Bellie have devoted their lives to protect him from poachers and raise him. It was shot at the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and the Theppakadu elephant camp. Recently Guneet and Kartiki did a press meet with the couple in Mumbai as well.

Now in a recent interview with RJ Rohini, a segment of which Guneet posted on Instagram, the producer revealed that initially they had wished if they could take both the calves Raghu and Ammu to the Oscars. In the interview, Guneet said she wants to thank “Booman and Bellie, Raghu and Ammu… who I wish we could take to the champagne carpet and to the Oscars! In fact we used to always say ‘Tux for Raghu, gown for Ammu’… even in our internal conversations while stylists conversations… we were like ‘Tux for Raghu!’ so you know (smiles)… when the shortlist happened this was our talk internally… let’s get tux ready for Raghu and a gown for Ammu.”

Recently, Kartiki and Guneet met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu with their Oscars. Sharing the pictures of the meeting, the official handle of the president’s office tweeted, “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.”