New Delhi: A row has broken out after a foreign artist shared a photoshoot featuring a pink-painted elephant on social media, triggering debate over animal welfare. The art photographer, Julia Buruleva, faced heavy backlash from internet users, with a larger section of people expressing concern about the elephant and accusing her of exploitation.
The model in the photoshoot is identified as Yashasvi, and the shoot was conducted a year ago. According to an NDTV report, the elephant in the frame was a female named Chanchal. She belonged to the Hathi Gaon (Elephant Village) area.
The President of the Hathi Gaon committee, Ballu Khan, confirmed that the elephant was coloured with the gulal, and the paint was removed within 30 minutes after the shoot.
Khan also confirmed that Chanchal died a month ago, and at that time she was 70 years old. Following this, several users claimed that Chanchal’s death is linked to the photoshoot, but there is no evidence to support these allegations.
However, the local handlers and officials clarified that Chanchal was 70 years old, which is an advanced age for an elephant. They also said that she died due to natural causes.
The timing of the photoshoot went viral, and news of her death has triggered outrage among the public, as some urged officials to take strict actions and give clear guidelines on the use of animals for commercial activities.
The controversy began when a Russian photographer, Julia Buruleva, painted an elephant pink and staged a shoot at an abandoned Ganesha temple in Jaipur in November 2025.
But the controversy erupted in 2026 after her post went viral. She came forward and expressed her intentions behind the photoshoot. Buruleva clarified that she spent six weeks in Jaipur and saw elephants everywhere in the state, and with the city’s iconic pink colour, she drove her idea by mixing both.