President Murmu congratulates teams of ‘The Elephant Whisperers’, ‘Naatu Naatu’ for Oscars

New Delhi [India], March 13 (ANI): President Droupadi Murmu on Monday extended greetings to the team of ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ and ‘Naatu Naatu’ which won the Oscars.

Praising ‘Naatu Naatu’ which won the Oscar for ‘Original Song’, the President said that it has made every Indian proud. She also lauded the ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ and hoped that it awakens the timeless message about the bond of nature and its children.

“Congratulations to the ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ team for the Oscar win! I hope it awakens the world to the timeless message of our seers about our bonds with Mother Nature and all its children. ‘Naatu Naatu’, a global phenomenon, has made every Indian proud: kudos to the team!” President of India tweeted.

‘The Elephant Whisperers’ won in the Best Documentary Short film category at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California.

It was truly a memorable day for India as it celebrated two big wins at the Oscars.

Team ‘RRR’ and ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ both won at the 95th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, making it a historic day for Indian filmmakers and the audience.

A victory that feels very personal to every Indian is that of ‘Naatu Naatu’! The song that made millions groove to its beats was also performed on the Oscar stage by a power-packed singer duo Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava. Later, the team lifted the trophy as the hall lit up with loud cheers and claps. The moment lyricist Chandrabose and composer MM Keeravani accepted the trophy will always be remembered as a revolutionary moment for Indian cinema.

During their acceptance speech, ‘Naatu Naatu’ composer M.M Keeravani said, “I grew up listening to the Carpenters and now here I am with the Oscars,” he began, and then began singing the melody of the ’70s pop smash “Top of the World”: ” ‘There was only one wish on my mind. … ‘RRR’ has to win, pride of every Indian, and must put me on the top of the world.”

Post the win, Jr NTR and Ram Charan expressed their gratitude to all those who believed in them.

Guneet Monga’s ‘The Elephant Whisperers’, a documentary directed by Kartiki Gonsalves paved way for many to believe that India truly can take the centre stage globally. It won the Oscar in the ‘Best Documentary Short Film’ category against ‘Haul Out,’ ‘How Do You Measure A Year?’ ‘The Martha Mitchell Effect,’ and ‘Stranger At The Gate’.

In her winning speech, Gonsalves said, “I stand here today to speak on the sacred bond between us and our natural world. For the respect of indigenous communities. For entity towards other living beings, we share our space with. And finally for co-existence. Thank you to the academy for recognizing our film highlighting indigenous people and animals. To Netflix for believing in the power of this film. To Guneet my Producer and my entire team and finally, to my mother father and sister who are up there somewhere, you’re the centre of my universe. To my motherland India.”

Later, Guneet Monga took to Twitter and wrote, “We just win the first-ever Oscar for an Indian Production! Two women did this! I am still shivering.”

The film’s plot revolves around a family who adopts two orphan baby elephants in Tamil Nadu’s Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. (ANI)