Know about Guneet Monga, producer of Oscar-winning The Elephant Whisperers | Guneet Monga Biography
Included among the top 50 Indians transforming India by India and one of the top 12 women achievers in the global entertainment industry by The Hollywood Reporter Today, Guneet is a force to be reckoned with. She is an Indian film producer who has been nominated for a BAFTA and is one of the country’s first producers to be inducted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The Oscar for Best Short Film went to The Elephant Whisperers. The documentary's story revolves around a South Indian couple who dedicate their entire lives to caring for Raghu, an orphaned elephant. It attempts to break down the wall between wildlife and humans while capturing their special familial tie.
Guneet Monga Early Life & Education
Guneet Monga was raised in Delhi. She attended the Bluebells School International for her elementary education before earning a degree in mass communication in 2004 from Madhubala Institute of Mass Communication and Electronic Media, a part of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in Delhi.
Guneet Monga Career and Recognitions
After completing her degree in mass communications, Monga began working as a production coordinator for international projects, most notably Vic Sarin’s Partition. In 2003, she interned in Delhi with a production coordinator. In 2006, she relocated to Mumbai and began production on the cricket movie Say Salaam India (2007). Rang Rasiya (2008) and Dasvidaniya (2008) came after this. Later in 2009, while working on Balaji Telefilms’ Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010), she met director-producer Anurag Kashyap, and in late 2009, she joined Anurag Kashyap Productions.
Kavi (2009), directed by Gregg Helvey and winner of the Student Academy Award - Narrative in 2009, was Monga’s first major international film. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2010.
In 2008, she founded Sikhya Entertainment, which has been at the forefront of promoting content-driven films such as The Lunchbox, Masaan, Gangs of Wasseypur, Pagglait, What Will People Say, Soorarai Pottru, Haraamkhor, Monsoon Shootout, Zubaan, Peddlers, and Oscar Winning Short Documentary - Period, End Of Sentence. Guneet Monga is a well-known filmmaker not only in India but also around the world, and her projects represent the triumph of content. The first project she took was the Student Academy Award-winning short film ‘Bittu’, named as one of the top ten films in the main Academy Award category for Best Short Film (Live Action).
The French government awarded Guneet Monga the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2021 in recognition of her important contributions to Indo-French cinematic and cultural collaborations through movies like The Lunchbox, Masaan, and Taj Mahal as well as her unwavering work for women’s empowerment through the “Indian Women Rising” collective.
