Guneet Monga
Guneet Monga (born 21 November 1983) is an Indian film producer, executive producer of an Academy Award-winning short, a 2015 BAFTA nominee (for “The Lunchbox”), and the founder of Sikhya Entertainment a boutique film production house that produced notable films like "Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1", Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2, "Peddlers", "The Lunchbox", "Masaan", "Zubaan" and "Pagglait". In 2018, Monga was amongst the first producers from India to be inducted in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She served as an Executive Producer on "Period. End of Sentence." which won the 2019 Academy Award  for Best Documentary Short Subject. Monga was voted as one of the top 12 women achievers in the Global Entertainment industry by "The Hollywood Reporter" and among the top 50 Indians changing India by "India Today". In 2021, Guneet Monga was conferred with the "Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" by the French Government for her significant contributions to Indo-French cinematic and cultural collaborations through films like The Lunchbox, Masaan, and Taj Mahal, as well as her relentless work towards women empowerment through the 'Indian Women Rising' collective. Early life and education. Monga grew up in Delhi . She received her primary education at Bluebells School International and received a degree in mass communications from Madhubala Institute of Mass Communication and Electronic Media affiliated with Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi in 2004. Career. In 2003, Monga interned with a production coordinator in 2003 in Delhi, and after receiving her mass communications she started career as production coordinator for international productions, most notably Vic Sarin's Partition. She shifted to Mumbai in 2006, when she started working in cricket film, "Say Salaam India" (2007). This was followed by "Rang Rasiya" (2008) and "Dasvidaniya" (2008) and later in 2009 , during the making of "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai" (2010), produced by Balaji Telefilms, she met director-producer, Anurag Kashyap, and subsequently in late 2009 she joined Anurag Kashyap Films. Monga's first major international film was the 2010 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film-nominated short, "Kavi" (2009), about bonded labour in India, directed by Gregg Helvey, and which won the Student Academy Award - Narrative in 2009. Meanwhile, in 2008 she started her own production company, Sikhya Entertainment and also a line production company. With Anurag Kashyap, she went on to work on film like "Gangs  of Wasseypur", Part I & II (2012) and "That Girl in Yellow Boots" (2011), besides, "Trishna" (2011), "Shaitan" (2011), "Michael" (2011), and "Aiyya". She also raised nearly for "Peddlers" (2012) made of a budget of Rs 2 cr., by posting the film's script on Facebook. Peddlers was selected at the International Critics' Week, won rave reviews and opened new markets for Indian Cinema. She produced "Monsoon Shootout" as a co-production between India, Netherland and UK and "The Lunchbox", a project shown at Film Bazaar (2011),; Cinemart (2012), Berlinale Co-Production Market (2012) and TorinoFilmLab (2012) as a co-production  between India, France, Germany & USA. In May 2013, when "The Lunchbox (Dabba)" and "Monsoon Shootout" both were selected for the International Critics' Week and a midnight screening at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, respectively, "The Hollywood Reporter" called her "most prolific producers of a new wave of cinema" while "The Hollywood Reporter"'s "2012 Women in Entertainment special", placed her amongst "12 international players to watch"; "India Today" has credited her for giving a facelift to independent cinema, and bridging "the gap between Indian films and foreign buyers and distributors.". Guneet is one of the fifty artists from the Entertainment  Industry around the world that featured in Variety's International Women's Impact Report 2018. [https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/bollywood/100318/guneet-monga-gains-global-recognition.html [8<nowiki>]</nowiki>] Deepika Padukone was the only other Indian artist that featured in this list from India. In 2019, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation awarded her the prestigious Sloan Science and Film grant.