''Ele, My Friend'' is a 1992 English-language

children's film A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that generally relates to children in the context of home and family. Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for a general audience, while family films are made f ...

directed by Dharan Mandrayar and produced by Linda Mandrayar. The film stars Jacob Paul Guzman and an elephant named Ganesh. The film, an Indo-British co-production, revolves around a bond between a 10-year old named Charles and an elephant, which he names Ele. The film is set in 1924.

Cast

Production

Dharan Mandrayar, a nephew of actor

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram. Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001), better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, was an Indian actor and film producer. He was mainly active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th centur ...

, studied in India and later in the United States. He forayed into films after being encouraged by his wife, Linda. The film was shot in South India and was produced by Dharan and Linda Mandrayar's Dharlin Entertainment. Filming began on 3 February 1992, and trained elephants had to be brought into the wildlife refuge in trailers. Mandrayar had Ele hover his foot above him to convince the film crew that the elephant could be trusted. While filming, a

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

(male) elephant charged the sets and the crew and trained elephants ran to safety. The scene where Ele falls into a pit was shot in one take.

Release

The film was released in Germany and Italy as ''Mein Freund, der kleine Elefant'' and ''Il Mio Amico Elé'', respectively. The film was made available on DVD in 2008.

Reception

A critic from ''Movie Guide'' opined that "''Ele, My Friend'' is a rare, gentle movie that will satisfy the viewer". Regarding the German version, a critic from ''Kinder Film Welt'' criticised several aspects of the film including the acting, music, and sound.

Accolades

The film won the Best Picture for Environment and Quality of Life Award in Bellinzona, Switzerland.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0150456 English-language Indian films Films about elephants Films shot in India