Indian couple who starred in Oscar-winning film say director backed out of pay promises

Bellie and Bomman, who tend to elephants on a nature reserve in Tamil Nadu, became a sensation after the documentary won an Oscar. Photograph: Kartiki Gonsalves

The couple who were the subject of an Oscar-winning Indian documentary have accused the film’s director, Kartiki Gonsalves, of reneging on payments they say were due to them.

The Elephant Whisperers charts the relationship between a middle-aged couple, Bomman and Bellie, who look after young elephant calves and a baby elephant called Raghu on the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. It won the Oscar for best documentary short film in March.