Oscar-winning producer Guneet Monga, identified for backing movies like “The Lunchbox” and “Masaan”, was awarded with the second highest civilian French honour by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Dria on Tuesday. Monga was given the honour of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters on the Residence of France for her contribution to the world cinema by her Indo-French productions and “her relentless work towards women empowerment,” a press release learn. Through her manufacturing firm, Sikhya Entertainment, Monga has spearheaded a number of acclaimed Indo-French productions together with actor Irrfan Khan starrer “The Lunchbox”, filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan’s 2015 drama “Masaan” and “Taj Mahal”.
She not too long ago joined palms with producer Ekta Kapoor and author-director Tahira Kashyap to launch cinema collective – Indian Women Rising. Monga mentioned as somebody who has been an enormous admirer of the French cinema, receiving the honour was a “special” second. The 37-year-old filmmaker mentioned she has continuously strived to champion ladies empowerment by her work. She devoted the honour to “every girl with a dream.” “Being honoured with the title ‘Chevalier dans I’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’ is extremely special for me… With my content, I’ve constantly strived to uplift women’s narratives 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. “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,” the producer mentioned in a press release. Minister Le Drian mentioned each, India and France, share the identical ardour 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 the foremost priority of France’s foreign policy,” he mentioned. Monga-backed “The Lunchbox” received Critics Week Viewers Choice Award on the 66th Cannes Film Festival. Her different movie productions had been additionally screened and honoured on the prestigious pageant, together with Vasan Bala’s “Peddlers”, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap’s “Gangs of Wasseypur”, “Monsoon Shootout” and “Masaan”. Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France rewards contributors throughout the globe beneath three categories- Commandeur, Officier and Chevalier. Earlier, distinguished names like Hollywood star Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruce Willis have been felicitated with the Commandeur title whereas famous person Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have received the Officier title. Pop star Shakira, South star Kamal Hassan and actor-filmmaker Nandita Das are the earlier awardees of Chevalier title.
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