The Girl With The Golden Statuette
By
Jaskiran Kapoor
Guneet Monga Kapoor
Guneet Monga Kapoor
If the international film Partition was a stepping stone for Guneet, Trishna by Michael Winterbottom was a hard-earned experience. ‘Working with Jimmy Mistry, Neve Campbell, Irrfan, Vic Sarin, Tina, Chris, Jen on Partition, I learned so much ─ love, life lessons and they are still mentors to me. The hardest was Trishna because when you work with Michael Winterbottom, you learn the fine art of execution. He trained me in a different skill set, taught me a new way of working which was genius, he was unstoppable, very intense, worked at breakneck speed, and had a strong work ethic. The hardest have also been to produce my own films ─ Tigers with Danis Tanovic and Emraan was the toughest and tested every bone in my body!’
A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into the awards and glory. None of it was easy. Taking someone as young as Guneet, and that too a girl, was difficult for many. It was her consummate passion for her work that filmmaker Anurag Kashyap noticed and met her at the Balaji office. Soon she was managing Anurag’s AKFPL. Her mentors have been the OGs (Original Gangstas) of the industry: If in Anurag Kashyap she found trust and confidence, became the face of independent cinema and got that pat on the back from him saying ‘jaa beta, jee le apni wali zindagi’, (live your life) surety, in Karan Johar of Dharma Productions, she found her voice in popular circles and large-scale projects. Audits, processes, studio working ─ learning it all Balaji on Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai.
‘I was barely twenty-five when I started managing AKFPL. The key is to keep trying, reaching out and making connections. There was a time when I wrote to the President of India for our visas because we didn’t have the finances. I’ve pinned a poster on my back as a film marketing gimmick and walked all over Cannes. I’ve punched in one thousand cold emails at Cannes till I was blocked! What I’m trying to say is that you need to have the right mentors, to show up in the right circles, right meetings, on time, with stories and logistics and plans in your hand. Show up with a pitch and learn to deliver it convincingly in five minutes. Be at it, believe in your story, in yourself, and be persistent.’
Guneet proved her mettle with every project. For instance, Peddlers, where she single-handedly raised about one crore rupees from social media! She continuously did festival rounds, be it Berlin, Cannes, Toronto, Sundance, pitching stories, finding funders, driving sales and distribution, poring over plans and financials, marketing and making strategies bridging the gap between Indian films and foreign buyers and distributors. No wonder she has been crowned as ‘the undisputed queen of parallel cinema’.
‘It takes a village to make a film. Disruption, distribution and democratisation of content so that it reaches more and more people is my focus. Films don’t flop, the budgets flop ─ business design impacts the journey and fate of a film, and that’s why producers are extremely important,’ says the girl whose memoirs will be aptly titled, The Art of Hustle!
‘You come into this industry with dreams. I got to work with the best, and now I want to work with (actor and singer) Diljit Dosanjh and Shah Rukh Khan for sure!’
Guneet, Uninterrupted
So what makes Guneet this unstoppable ball of fire who shaved her head, learnt the martial art of kalaripayattu in Puducherry and travelled the world in search of answers? Her executive assistant who manages everything, Nisha Sohi, and her team credit her clarity and years of experience in business and personal life. ‘She articulates her vision with conviction and excitement, so her team works around her ideas with the same intensity to make things happen. Nothing breaks her momentum because she lives with the motto of “Every No leads to a Yes”,’ they share about their ‘charismatic leader whose power lies in her ability to motivate her team and excite those around her towards a shared vision’. An enabler, who sees the best in people, stories, and moments, Guneet believes in practicing inclusivity, and gives credit where it is due. ‘I am an extremely organized person. This I get from my mother: early to bed, early to rise, detailed planning and delegation, problem solving and simply managing,’ she adds.
We loved the moment when the mic was turned off on the Oscar stage but she went ahead anyway, lifted her Oscar in the air, and shouted ‘This is for India!’ Even if it was for the front row at the Oscars (Pedro Pascal, Steven Spielberg, Ava Duvernay, etc) to hear, That is the true Guneet Monga Kapoor, who never gives up and never wastes a moment in life.
And Then There Was Love
Sunny Kapoor. The man who swept Guneet off her feet. ‘Sunny and I met by accident, during the second lockdown. Some friends moved into my house, and got me on a dating app. I was registered on five marriage bureaus, I was thirty-seven-thirty-eight at that time, and desperate to get married.
