The Elephant Whispers by Guneet Monga and Kartiki Gonsalves received the Oscar Award for Best Documentary Short. Many people noted that Guneet was removed from the stage as she was about to make her acceptance speech, even though this victory made history for India. Since then, another “white British” guy has received an Oscar, and a user on TikTok has published a video stating that the Academy did not display any such time stamp for the speech. (Read also: Guneet Monga Leaves a Message for Shaunak Sen in All That Breathes: Oscars May Pass But Its Effect Will Last Forever.)
Kartiki Gonsalves, left, and Guneet Monga accept the best documentary short film award for “The Elephant Whisperer” at the Oscars at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Karthik and Guneet both appeared on stage to accept The Elephant Whispers’ Best Documentary Short Oscar. “I stand here today to speak for the spiritual relationship between us and our natural world, for respect for indigenous tribes, for other living beings’ empathy with those with whom we share space, and, ultimately, for coexistence,” Kartiki said after taking 43 seconds to finish her address. We are grateful to the Academy for honoring our documentary about native wildlife and people. The music then began to play as Guneet was about to finish her sentence, stopping her in her tracks.
In a video that was recently posted on Twitter and has since gone viral, TikTok user @/iam7evn noted that while Guneet’s speech was condensed to comply with the 45-second acceptance speech limit, the next group of award recipients did not receive the same treatment. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and the Horse, directed by Charles Mackesy and Matthew Freud, won the Best Animated Short prize, which was featured in the video. His discourse continued for more than 45 seconds without being interrupted.
The video surprised a number of viewers, who commented on the microblogging website. One person posted: “This irritated me as well because I spotted it. Keep listening to find out what we missed that evening. #Oscar2023 ” So to say, it’s definitely improper that they gave the woman’s acceptance speech an Indian Cut. similar to lying. One more person stated, “I’m genuinely bothered by everything here. More than anything, it aches. Although the music played over her as she stood there using her phone, her speech was incredibly wonderful.” “This irritates me in ways I can’t articulate,” read another comment.
The remainder of the clip featured Guneet’s speech from the ceremony’s closing: “Tonight is historic! Two ladies have won the first Oscar awarded to an Indian production. I simply want to let everyone watching know that the future is bold, it’s us, and it’s already here.