Guneet Monga: We women fix each-other’s crown, we don’t compete

Mumbai, March 4  Whether her recent collaboration with female film directors as Tahira Kashyap Khurrana, Smrutika Panigrahi and Vijayeta Kumar, or picking up a tabooed subject like menstruation, Oscar-winning producer Guneet Monga is constantly conveying her belief on how the female workforce can bring about change in the portrayal of women within the entertainment space.

Film production was predominantly ruled by male, but Monga feels change is coming because of more and more women are joining the workforce behind the camera.

“I would like to mention that we women are not competition to each other. We fix each other”s crowns, so when we come together to tell stories, the representation of women on screen changes automatically,” Monga told IANS.

The role of women has changed in society, she reminds. “Gone are the days where women were told that the duty of a woman is to handle domestic chaos and that she cannot handle finance or the hardcore professional world. As a film producer I feel responsible to not portraying women in a regressive manner because that is not the society we wish to live in. Rather, we rather intend to change the perspective. We need to change the lens through which women were seen so far. Of course, the involvement of more women in the workforce adds to that,” she said.

Citing the example of her recent collaboration “Zindagi In Shorts, Guneet said: “I am very proud of the fact that in the anthology ”Zindagi In Shorts” that I have produced for the Flipkart app, I have worked with three female director — Tahira Kashyap Khurrana, Smrutika Panigrahi and Vijayeta Kumar. I am working with another female director Sudha Kongara for my Tamil film production ”Soorarai Pottru”.”

“Soorarai Pottru” features Suriya, Aparna Balamurali, Jackie Shroff, Mohan Babu and Paresh Rawal among others.

Sharing insight of “Soorarai Pottru”, she said: “It is a very important story of a farmer who made India”s first-ever low-cost airline for common people to fly. It is an inspiring story and it required a different level of conviction and care to bring life to the narrative. Sudha has done a good job.”

The film is scheduled to release on April 20.

(Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in)