'Not at all, we could do with another 100 films around this subject,' says Guneet Monga on if Akshay Kumar's PadMan become a deterrent to her

By Rashita Sahni

on February 26, 2019

Guneet Monga’s Sikhya entertainment co-production titled Period. End of Sentence. based on the topic of the deep stigma associated with menstruation and delving upon the work of real-life PadMan Arunachalam Muruganantham won big the Best Documentary Short at the 91st Academy Awards on February 25 and producer Guneet is quite elated. Well, she has all the reasons to be.

In a chat with a leading daily, Guneet spoke about her documentary film, its win and more films should be made on this subject just like Akshay Kumar starrer PadMan. When asked about how Arunachalam Muruganantham, a part of her documentary, also inspired a Bollywood film PadMan featuring Akshay Kumar and if that at any point become a deterrent because both films were talking about the same issue in different formats, Guneet shared, "Not at all, in fact, we could do with another 100 films around this subject. PadMan just normalized the conversation around menstrual hygiene. More films will mean more conversations and that will help in a big way. Our film is about women — telling their and other womens’ stories and struggles with this taboo."

Akshay had even congratulated Guneet when her film won the Oscar saying that it was a well-deserved win.

https://twitter.com/akshaykumar/status/1099926206030331904

When asked about what did she think worked in her film’s favour, she said, "I have spoken about how flawed our system of nominating films for the Oscars is on several occasions. It needs to change. You have to send films to festivals. Period. End of Sentence was screened at so many festivals, it participated in competitions and won at eight festivals. That built credibility. You can’t wake up one morning and decide to start your campaign for the Oscars. You can’t send a film just because a bunch of people like it. It’s a year-long exercise. You have to weigh the film on its strengths and the credibility it has built. It’s important to find the right machinery to get your film noticed in the right places. You have to select a film that has legs to walk in America."

[caption id="attachment_219919" align="aligncenter" width="647"] (L-R) Guneet Monga and the poster of Period. End Of Sentence[/caption]

"The film found overwhelming support once it was put out there for everyone to see. The team, the story, the women in the film - it all worked in its favour," concluded Guneet.