 "Guneet Monga's love affair with Indian cinema")
By Guneet Monga's own admission, it is risky for people like her to own a house. Some years ago, the indie film producer sold her lone property in Delhi to pour money into completing the film Monsoon Shootout. "I think I love gambling," the 31-year-old says with a chuckle. That bet is yet to fully pay off as the noir film, having done the rounds at various international festivals, is still waiting for an India release. Even before she takes on projects like this, people often warn her about their lack of feasibility, but given a choice, Monga says she would back such films again in a heartbeat.
Affirmation has come recently in the form of Monsoon Shootout and three other ventures that have been selected for screenings at the 17th edition of the MAMI film festival. In her eight-year career, she has already co-produced as many as 31 short and feature-length titles, including The Lunchbox and Masaan. While her choices are based on volatile premises like instinct and trust, her productions usually succeed in winning critical acclaim. Monga also looks for a theme that can strike a chord globally. For instance, in Masaan, it was life and death. She lets directors stick to their vision even if the idea isn't always commercially viable, says Amit Kumar, who made Monsoon Shootout. This makes her a sought-after collaborator for first-time makers of independent-spirited cinema. According to her, the energy of a first film is unique and its completion feels like a miracle.
Monga comes across as personable. She walks into her office in a quiet neighbourhood of Juhu, apologising for being late, and soon hands out homemade biscuits that someone has sent her. A smile lingers on her face, and widens or relaxes as she speaks. She is described by those who have worked with her as impulsive, determined and full of child-like enthusiasm. Her interest in cinema started at age 17, when she interned with a friend's mother who was assisting film makers such as Mira Nair and Pan Nalin. "It was so involving that I never really got a chance to think of anything else."
She is now eyeing with interest the idea of taking regional cinema to foreign shores, beginning with Tamil film Visaranai, produced by Dhanush, which was screened at the Venice Film Festival. She was also part of Bengali film Tasher Desh, directed by Qaushiq Mukherjee. Monga says she is merely joining the dots for good content that deserves to travel. With regional films, the young producer finds that the tax system, film structures and costs are all better compared to an independent Hindi movie. "They are aiming for a certain market and share. Hindi films get confused - we are aiming for the whole country and our costs are so high that we fail in breaking even."
The film festival regular has developed solid connections over the years. Her upcoming film Zubaan, directed by Mozez Singh, was the opening-night film at the festival in Busan, screened outdoor before an audience of 6,000. The festival head told Singh his decision was based on two points. "He liked the film and he trusted Guneet's work." But her first experience at a major global event had been very different. When Kashyap's That Girl in Yellow Boots got selected to go to Venice in 2010, she imagined buyers would be seated at tables country-wise, sporting badges. The team landed there, with heaps of posters and pamphlets that cost them a fortune in excess baggage, only to realise that advertising space had to be bought and media interactions had to be formally set up. "We could not buy spaces so we pasted posters on our backs and were walking around doing crazy things."
The last few years have also taught her the benefits of co-productions. Along with 25 producers from various countries who had each made a few films, Monga was selected for a Trans-Atlantic Partners programme, which helped her get a grasp on the legalities of such collaborations. It has resulted in partnerships with studios like Pathe and Gaumont Film Company. The muscle of global partners helps especially in the absence of government backing. "You have to be in a really expensive European country or America going up against other films with government-backing," she notes. "Every government around the world supports its country's films. We don't (have that)."
While it is true that more independent-spirited films are being made, problems remain. "I think we need to sort out distribution. What system exists is for the mainstream Bollywood films, and it is not friendly to independent films. Independent film makers need to have a collective conversation to address the high marketing cost, she says. After working with Karan Johar to release The Lunchbox, Monga has learnt lessons in marketing. "He is the biggest marketing mind in the country - he looked at the film and came up with the line 'Can you fall in love with somebody you have never met?' That cracked it."
The focus at Sikhya is now on securing India releases for her productions. Peddlers, starring Gulshan Devaiah and Nimrat Kaur, and Haramkhor, featuring Nawazuddin Siddiqui will also be showing at the MAMI festival. She is working on the Telugu, Tamil and Hindi re-makes of Gaumont's wildly successful French film The Intouchables. Her company, which receives as many as 10 pitches a day now, is developing a web series. All this is happening while Monga had planned to pace herself. That is maybe why she is sometimes fondly referred to as "the hurricane".
Affirmation has come recently in the form of Monsoon Shootout and three other ventures that have been selected for screenings at the 17th edition of the MAMI film festival. In her eight-year career, she has already co-produced as many as 31 short and feature-length titles, including The Lunchbox and Masaan. While her choices are based on volatile premises like instinct and trust, her productions usually succeed in winning critical acclaim. Monga also looks for a theme that can strike a chord globally. For instance, in Masaan, it was life and death. She lets directors stick to their vision even if the idea isn't always commercially viable, says Amit Kumar, who made Monsoon Shootout. This makes her a sought-after collaborator for first-time makers of independent-spirited cinema. According to her, the energy of a first film is unique and its completion feels like a miracle.
Monga comes across as personable. She walks into her office in a quiet neighbourhood of Juhu, apologising for being late, and soon hands out homemade biscuits that someone has sent her. A smile lingers on her face, and widens or relaxes as she speaks. She is described by those who have worked with her as impulsive, determined and full of child-like enthusiasm. Her interest in cinema started at age 17, when she interned with a friend's mother who was assisting film makers such as Mira Nair and Pan Nalin. "It was so involving that I never really got a chance to think of anything else."
Also Read
Next, she landed stints as production coordinator for more international films and eventually decided to move to Mumbai. In 2007, she worked on the cricket-themed film Say Salaam India, which tanked as it released on the same day that the Indian team crashed out of the World Cup. The feisty Monga then approached schools and booked single-screen theatres in Delhi and Punjab, ultimately recovering the cost. Her big break came in 2009, on meeting Anurag Kashyap and joining his team. Alongside, she set up Sikhya Entertainment, a line production company. While she handles broader aspects of production like finding partners and getting the word out, her team looks at day-to-day requirements on set. After the success of The Lunchbox, recognition grew with interviews of Monga appearing in The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.
She is now eyeing with interest the idea of taking regional cinema to foreign shores, beginning with Tamil film Visaranai, produced by Dhanush, which was screened at the Venice Film Festival. She was also part of Bengali film Tasher Desh, directed by Qaushiq Mukherjee. Monga says she is merely joining the dots for good content that deserves to travel. With regional films, the young producer finds that the tax system, film structures and costs are all better compared to an independent Hindi movie. "They are aiming for a certain market and share. Hindi films get confused - we are aiming for the whole country and our costs are so high that we fail in breaking even."
The film festival regular has developed solid connections over the years. Her upcoming film Zubaan, directed by Mozez Singh, was the opening-night film at the festival in Busan, screened outdoor before an audience of 6,000. The festival head told Singh his decision was based on two points. "He liked the film and he trusted Guneet's work." But her first experience at a major global event had been very different. When Kashyap's That Girl in Yellow Boots got selected to go to Venice in 2010, she imagined buyers would be seated at tables country-wise, sporting badges. The team landed there, with heaps of posters and pamphlets that cost them a fortune in excess baggage, only to realise that advertising space had to be bought and media interactions had to be formally set up. "We could not buy spaces so we pasted posters on our backs and were walking around doing crazy things."
The last few years have also taught her the benefits of co-productions. Along with 25 producers from various countries who had each made a few films, Monga was selected for a Trans-Atlantic Partners programme, which helped her get a grasp on the legalities of such collaborations. It has resulted in partnerships with studios like Pathe and Gaumont Film Company. The muscle of global partners helps especially in the absence of government backing. "You have to be in a really expensive European country or America going up against other films with government-backing," she notes. "Every government around the world supports its country's films. We don't (have that)."
While it is true that more independent-spirited films are being made, problems remain. "I think we need to sort out distribution. What system exists is for the mainstream Bollywood films, and it is not friendly to independent films. Independent film makers need to have a collective conversation to address the high marketing cost, she says. After working with Karan Johar to release The Lunchbox, Monga has learnt lessons in marketing. "He is the biggest marketing mind in the country - he looked at the film and came up with the line 'Can you fall in love with somebody you have never met?' That cracked it."
The focus at Sikhya is now on securing India releases for her productions. Peddlers, starring Gulshan Devaiah and Nimrat Kaur, and Haramkhor, featuring Nawazuddin Siddiqui will also be showing at the MAMI festival. She is working on the Telugu, Tamil and Hindi re-makes of Gaumont's wildly successful French film The Intouchables. Her company, which receives as many as 10 pitches a day now, is developing a web series. All this is happening while Monga had planned to pace herself. That is maybe why she is sometimes fondly referred to as "the hurricane".