At her alma mater, Bluebells International school, Guneet Monga recounts the long road to an Oscar

Oscar-winning producer Guneet Monga recently returned to her alma mater, Bluebells School International, where she spent a day engaging with students, teachers, and her former principal, Suman Kumar.

Invited for an interactive session during a recent visit to Delhi, Monga fielded a wide range of questions - from the inner workings of the film industry to the making of The Elephant Whisperers and her journey to the Oscars. The documentary made history at the 95th Academy Awards, becoming the first Indian-produced film to win in the Best Documentary Short category.

Speaking to students, Monga reflected on how her school years shaped her creative instincts. She credited Bluebells for encouraging extracurricular pursuits and nurturing independent thinking. “It’s an honour to represent our school and relive the memories and experiences that played a pivotal role in making me who I am today,” she said.

Recounting her early career, Monga described working on international productions filming in India — handling logistics and assisting crews navigating permissions and locations. It was during this period that she met filmmaker Gregg Helvey, who was making a student film titled Kavi.

Kavi went on to win a Student Academy Award and was later nominated at the 2010 Oscars — an early brush with global recognition that came with its own challenges.

She said, “I used to also help a lot of people who were coming from outside India to shoot films. And in that, I met this wonderful young director. Woh apni US se college film bana rahe thay jiska naam tha Kavi. And he didn't really have enough money. And I just knew the work, and I was happy to help him.

So, I became a producer on that film. His name is Gregg Helvey. Unke saath humne Kavi banayi. Woh bana kar woh US mein edit kar rahe thay. Aise maine bahut projects mein kaam kiya. Later 2009 mein woh film student Oscar jeet gayi. Aur jaise hi uss film ne student Oscar jeeta, woh 2010 ke Oscar mein nominate ho gayi — in top five.

So, suddenly, in 2010 — I had a film that was nominated for Oscar. And of course, I produced it. I had worked on it. I helped make that film. But uski post-production ki journey America mein thi.

Toh mujhe khush khabri aayi ki — we have won the Oscar. Phir mujhe khush khabri aayi ki — we are in top five. And it was beautiful and magical. But I had no money. I had nothing. Aur mera bas itna sa sapna tha ki mujhe America ja kar attend karna hai. Agar aapki film Oscar mein ja rahi toh attend karna toh banta hai na.”

Monga shared candidly that she lacked the financial means to attend the ceremony. With just weeks to spare, she reached out widely for support, even writing to prominent figures such as Richard Branson, Vijay Mallya, and Ratan Tata.

She shared, “Toh ye chalta raha dus din without any success. Toh bahut hi aise frustration tha ki pata nahi kab America ka visa hoga? Kaise hoga? In that frustration, I wrote to the then President of India — honourable Mrs. Pratibha Patil ji. And maine unke office mein email daal di ki — ‘I'm pride of India. We are nominated for an Oscar, we would love to speak to you’.”

She then described how that outreach eventually led from a Rashtrapati Bhawan invite to landing in Los Angeles.

She told the students, “I landed in LA, and the first thing I did was to go to Gurudwara. And I spoke to bhaiji there, and I said — ‘mujhe apni picture dikhani hai’.”

Reflecting on her journey through the Oscars over the years, she shared, “Aur wahan upar baith kar 2010 mein mera sapna tha ki ek baar neeche toh baith jaoon ek baar. Matlab eye-to-eye dekh lein — itni door se chal kar aayein hain. Aur phir jab — Period. End of Sentence. mein ek aur floor neeche baithi aur phir ek aur floor neeche baithi jab attend kiya.

Phir sapna tha ki ek baari duniya yahan se kaisi dikhti hai — stage se — ye theatre kaisa dikhta hai? So, that I was able to experience in The Elephant Whisperers.”

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