Guneet Monga at Oscars 2023: The future is audacious, the future is truly female!

Film producer Guneet Monga has created history by becoming the first-ever female Indian producer to win an Oscar at the 95th Academy Awards. She won in the best documentary short film category for the Tamil-language documentary, The Elephant Whisperers, which is directed by Kartiki Gonsalves.

The film is produced under Guneet's production house, Sikhya Entertainment.

After winning the award, Guneet said, "This is an incredibly powerful and historical moment. We, as two women from India, stood on that global stage, making this historical win. I’m so proud of this film, this moment and of my amazing team at Sikhya Entertainment - that an independent production house from India has made history to be the first-ever Indian film by an Indian production to win an Oscar. My heart is racing with all the joy, love, and excitement at the moment."

The short film revolves around a baby elephant, Raghu. Guneet took a moment and gave due credit to the director, Kartiki, for her great vision to celebrate deep-rooted Indian culture through the film on nature conservation.

"I’m so grateful to Kartiki, for the wonderful visionary that she is. Netflix gave us the biggest stage in the world; they supported us and believed in us all the way. Today, I can say that the future for Indian cinema is audacious. The future is here, and the future is truly female!" said the producer.

Set in the Mudumalai National Park, the documentary is about a tribal couple who form a strong bond with an orphan baby elephant named Raghu. It also highlights the co-existence and bond between humans and animals. 

The story of The Elephant Whisperers is written by Priscilla Gonsalves and it is available to stream on Netflix.