PremiumExclusive! Guneet Monga: Oscars are just one night; what is special is the work we do every day
"All these rewards are beautiful, but the change is a slow and everyday process," she said after receiving the Changemaker of the Year trophy at the OTTplay Changemakers Awards 2023
Last Updated: 07.20 PM, Apr 01, 2023
Who other than producer Guneet Monga could be deserving of the title of Changemaker of the Year? She not only won the Oscars for her documentary, The Elephant Whisperers, but also won the hearts of a billion Indians.
The producer was awarded the Changemaker of the Year trophy at the recently-held OTTplay Changemakers Awards 2023, and exclusively told OTTplay that it took her 15 years to get to where she is today, and although she is very grateful for winning an Oscar, what really matters and adds up is the hard work that she does every single day.
Speaking about this, Guneet said, "I feel that change doesn't happen overnight. The Oscars are just one night, and I'm very grateful for them, but that is not what change is. That moment is special, but it is also about the work we do every day. It is the power of showing up every day. For me, it is 15 years of producing independent films, and Oscars and any award, even this one, all add up. All these rewards are beautiful, but change is a slow and everyday process. You may feel that after a day’s work that you’ve not done much and not even moved a stone, but after a decade and a half, I think that I have moved a mountain. But, yes, it took that long."
Originally from Delhi, Guneet decided to pack her bags one day and move to Mumbai to become a producer. Making a special revelation, she said that the first time she went to Mumbai was to meet the late Irrfan Khan at the airport.
"I want to tell you one story, which I don't think anyone else knows. The first time that I came to Mumbai was to meet Mr Irrfan Khan at the airport because he was flying from one city to another. I was an intern's intern back then, and my job was to take his passport to get his visa application done. So, I had to stand at the airport and just wait for him. I feel very fortunate that I got to work with him, and I think that the love and blessings have stayed," she said.
Looking back, does Guneet have a message for the young intern waiting at the airport? "What I would say to myself is, ‘Just keep at it.' I hope that I continue to tell the stories that I choose to and am allowed to. The rest, I genuinely feel, is that we all do mehnat, and Oscars or any of the rewards are rehmat. Woh mehnat ke char chand lagte hai, jahan rehmant ho jaati hai, but mehnat ka koi shortcut nahi hai," she signed off.
Transcribed and edited by Dhwani Desai