In a legal notice to the makers of the Oscar-winning documentary The Elephant Whisperers, Bomman and Bellie, the Kattunayakar couple who starred in it, have demanded Rs 2 crore in compensation, highlighting that they have not been remunerated so far. The legal notice was sent to the filmmakers on June 24 this year.
In a recent interview in a YouTube channel, the couple levelled several allegations against director Kartiki Gonsalves and production house Sikhya Entertainment, including exploitation, harassment, and threats.
TNM accessed the legal notice sent to the makers, which noted that the couple were promised a proper house, an all-terrain vehicle, and a lump sum of money in financial support by Kartiki, the producer Guneet Monga, and Sikhya entertainment for their contributions to the movie.
It noted that the couple did not receive "fair benefits from the huge commercial gains made by the makers" and demanded Rs 2 crore in compensation. The notice said that even though a sum of Rs 2 crore would not be “a reasonable share of profit … considering the enormous financial gains that the documentary film has made in India as well as abroad by now,” the couple would be satisfied with the amount “that would take care of their housing and other basic needs to meet the old-age and post retirement life.”
The legal notice also stated that words of praise and accolades for the work one has done and projecting them as celebrity on the media does not adequately compensate for “extracting work and use of skill by employing any person irrespective of their age, social status, caste and segment of the society and deriving commercial benefit from the said engagement”. Praises and accolades cannot eradicate the poor living conditions of the couple, it noted. The notice said that money alone can improve the standards of their lives and comfort.
The Elephant Whisperers' won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short this year. The film followed Bomman and Bellie as they cared for orphaned baby elephants in Theppakadu Elephant camp in Nilgiris of Tamil Nadu. Following the international recognition for the film, the state and Union governments felicitated both the filmmakers and the couple with monetary rewards. The Tamil Nadu government announced a house for the couple and a reward of Rs 1 lakh each, while Kartiki received Rs 1 crore from the state government.