Feels like my life and work have come full circle, says Guneet Monga on French honour

Guneet Monga received the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans I'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres), the second highest French civilian honour, from Jean-Yves Le Drian, minister for Europe and foreign affairs, at the residence of France in New Delhi yesterday.

The award-winning producer was honoured for her contribution to world cinema through several successful Indo-French productions and her relentless work for women's empowerment through the recently announced cinema collective Indian Women Rising.

Monga’s Indo-French co-productions include The Lunchbox (2013), which was premiered at the Cannes Festival, Masaan (2015) and Taj Mahal (2015), directed by Nicolas Saada.

Other productions like the unreleased Peddlers, Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012), Monsoon Shootout (2017) and Masaan have also been showcased at the prestigious French festival.

The award-winning producer is the founder of Sikhya Entertainment and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Her co-production, Period. End Of Sentence, won the Oscar for Best Documentary (Short Subject) in 2019.

Monga’s recent productions include the Suriya-starrer Soorarai Pottru (2020) and the Netflix film Pagglait (2021) featuring Sanya Malhotra.

Monga, who received the award at a pared down event owing to COVID-19 restrictions, stated, “I've been in awe of French cinema ever since I began my career as a filmmaker, hence being honoured with the title 'Chevalier dans I'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres' is extremely special for me — it feels like my life and my work have come full circle today. With my content, I've constantly strived to uplift women's narrative in cinema.

“I'm grateful for this honour and would like to share it with my co-founders of Indian Women Rising and my entire team at Sikhya Entertainment,” she continued. “Even though the honour has mine and my family's name on it, I dedicate this award to every girl with a dream. Continue to dream freely and create fearlessly. The universe is always conspiring in favour of the brave and I stand here as proof of that! May our tribe rise!"

Minister Le Drian added, “India and France share the same passion for cinema. I was proud to congratulate Indian and French women producers for their Indo-French collaborations and for their work towards gender equality in this field. The embassy of France in India will also play its part, through this agreement with the Collectif 50/50. Gender equality is a foremost priority of France’s foreign policy.”

Artistes like singer Shakira, actors Sivaji Ganesan and Kamal Haasan, and actress-filmmaker Nandita Das have previously received the Chevalier title.