The Girl With The Golden Statuette
By
Jaskiran Kapoor
Guneet Monga Kapoor
Guneet Monga Kapoor
In Experimental Mode
Moving to Surajkund opened up a whole new world for Guneet. There was a hustler in her, a go-getter who would invariably find herself amidst all the action. From theatre to drama to environment to activism, Guneet was at the forefront of every extra-curricular activity at school, Bluebells School International. ‘Yeah, I was high on non-academic activities and I got along really well with everyone,’ sharing how she along with her team ran a green brigade in their school. ‘The then chief minister of Delhi, the late Smt. Sheila Dixit had offered the school some land and said to make it green. I remember holding a morcha (demonstration) at Shopper’s Stop against plastic! Then, being a prefect in school, running and leading a house with three hundred kids under me and motivating them to win a sports cup, further shaped me as a leader,’ Guneet reminisces about her school days. Besides, being part of Ankuran, at school which was designed to help underprivileged kids also shaped her personality.
However, one of the most memorable incidents she recalls is when her father stood up for her. ‘I remember I was never that good in studies so it was in mom-dad’s “emotional pyaar (love)” that I took Maths in Class XI and XII and the teacher got so frustrated with me that he refused to allow me to take the pre- boards. Dad came to school and met A.P. Mishra, our teacher. After that, Mishra Sir came to class and suddenly said, “Guneet Monga, stand up”. I did, and he then said, “I like your father”. I went home, quite puzzled at this reaction, and asked my folks, kya hua? What happened? So dad said, “the math teacher complained that you are not grasping or coping and I told him, my daughter is very bright, you have to work harder to get her attention. It’s a remark on you as a teacher. Don’t say my daughter is not bright”. And that year, I got seventy per cent in maths. My father was such an amazing person, zinda dil, jisse kehta hain. (A lively person) No matter how tough the times were, he always found a way to live in the moment, to give it his all, to give me the experiences of a lifetime…this one instance, he sold his gold to send me to the US. He would go out of his way to give me the best education, the best opportunity. He played a huge role in my life. His unwavering support, confidence, and belief in me were my foundation. My mother too, such a beautiful, graceful person…never uttered a wrong word or hurt a fly! My parents were my safety net. Now, after their passing, after a long time, I have my in-laws, my husband Sunny. But there were fifteen years of no Diwali, no celebrations that one lived…’
Among the people who left a lifelong impression on Guneet and were her founding pillars, was Suman Kumar, her school principal. ’I owe so much to her. She was eloquent, polished, beautiful and I would always look up to her. She was an accessible, incredibly kind person, yet disciplined and strict, and knew how to set boundaries. Her personality left a huge impression on all of us,’ says Guneet.
If school was her learning ground, the next eight years in Surajkund was her playground. ‘Then came college. My (school passing out) percentage was in the sixties, and gaining admission anywhere was tough. So, I decided to enroll in Dyal Singh College’s evening classes, to do a course in travel and tourism. The idea of moving to Australia for a course in international business also crossed my mind but my BFF (Best Friend Forever) Prerna said, no.’ On Prerna’s insistence, together they filled out the form for mass communication and took the entrance exam. ‘A very interesting thing happened there. We had this multiple-choice question and answer format. I was clueless. So, I gambled a bit: my birthday falls on November 21, which is 2 plus 1 equals 3, and very confidently I ticked all number 3 in answer options. I earned a scholarship at that entrance! Can you believe that! Prerna too got it. I left DU (Delhi University, and joined Guru Gobind Singh Mass Communication, Indraprastha University,’ says Guneet. Journalism, radio, video, she grasped it all, and shares how all her friends from college are now top journalists in Delhi.
Picture Abhi Baaki Hai: (There is More to Come)
From the huge sprawling bungalow in Greater Kailash, pampered by her parents, posh schooling, grand education ─ to many, Guneet’s life looked like a dream. The truth, however, was as bitter and broken as the relationships, and the violent past she endured along with her parents. Yes, moving to Surajkund’s affordable two-bedroom society in Faridabad was a relief. But it was still a stop-gap arrangement for her folks. ‘Apna ghar. That’s all they wanted their entire lives. To have their own house, to keep the hope of going back to GK, South Delhi alive. All my life, all I ever heard them chant was apna ghar. So, I also manifested it, and before I knew it, I too was working for it, towards it,’ says Guneet.
By the time she was about sixteen, Guneet was already hustling, working odd jobs, making money. Be it running a small stall in her colony, deejaying, marketing gigs that paid four hundred bucks an hour, selling cheese, being a paid volunteer at trade fairs, anchoring shows, car rally enthusiast, an insurance agent at Tata AIG ─ she dabbled with every job and opportunity that came her way. ‘I didn’t want to pursue post graduation…I was in a rush, impatient to earn big and buy a big house for my parents …a huge part of my life went into this, the dream of owning our own house, and this became an obsession when we were kicked out of our house.’
The driving force was ─ ‘how can I make a little more money’. And that is when Anureeta Saigal, her best friend’s mom, stepped in. It was 2003. She was handling production for international films in Delhi, and her office was a place Guneet loved instantly. ‘I joined her as an intern’s intern for the film, Valley of Flowers.’ Sometimes one stumbles upon things, and sometimes things find you, and looking back, everything gets into perspective. ‘Production demands organisational skills, logistical knowledge, and intensive planning on a large scale. It didn’t deter me. All throughout school I had immersed myself in extra-curricular work like this. I simply loved organising events on a big scale and I guess that’s how I became a producer. After joining Anureeta aunty, I became busy, pushing forward. So, from an intern’s intern, to intern, to production coordinator, location manager, casting, I kept adding on credits and responsibility. One rule that I followed was to never say no.’
