What makes the academy awards so significant, especially in the Indian context? Guneet comes up with one-liner, “whole of India watches it.” Achin, however, is more elaborate and shares, “If you look at the run up to the awards from Palme d’Or at Cannes to Golden Globes, internationally Oscars are the culmination point.”
Anuja, a tale of nine-year-old, working in a garment factory who suddenly faces a life altering choice, has already been to many festivals and won several awards too.
But that does not mean there is really a formula to winning an Oscar. Their instinctive gut feeling, intuition tells them which stories and story tellers to back. Back in time when she produced The Lunchbox surprisingly there were no takers for the beautiful film in India. Those of us who are wondering how can her Sikhya Entertainment and Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions come together. For on the face of it aren’t their sensibilities like chalk and cheese. But she begs to differ and reminds us how when no one was ready to distribute The Lunchbox, Karan Johar came on board and made it a huge success in India. She adds, “We both back good cinema… period.” In fact, in future she intends to double down her ‘empowering’ partnership with him. If this year they have collaborated for two successful projects Gyaarah Gyaarah and Kill, up next is a thriller series starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Sara Ali Khan.
Interestingly, for a woman who beamed at the Oscars, “We as two women from India stood on that global stage making this historical win,” also believes in the philosophy of ‘‘one woman putting the other forward.’
So, how does her partnership with member of the opposite gender Achin work? Now it’s Achin’s turn to come up with a tongue-in-cheek response, “If Guneet remains 70,000 feet high in the sky then I am 35,000 feet under the ground. Somewhere in between and amidst our many fights for the same cause we find a meeting ground.”
By the way there are no gender roles to be played here. Action blitzkrieg Kill wasn’t Achin’s choice, rather Guneet who simply loves extreme action was all for it. As a woman nothing is taboo for her except may be a porn film or may be that story too could be told from a woman’s perspective.
Beyond their individual tastes, their production house follows a very democratic set up where not just their voices but those of others in the company too matter. In a country where role of producers is never fully understood, Achin agrees, “In a star-obsessed industry, people do wonder if you are not money bags and if you are not stars’ relatives then what exactly are you doing here?”
But producers, they reveal, are directors’ best support system and shine a light on the director, actors and the story. When would Guneet, a true blue sardarani, who has more recently given us a documentary on the rise and fall of Punjabi singer Yo Yo Honey Singh, turn her attention towards a Punjabi film? “Someday, when I find the right script,” is the succinct answer. Right now, the only one who has caught her eye is Anmol Sidhu of Jaggi fame.
What about her promise that she will get us an Oscar for a feature film? She laughs, “Right now a lot of praying is happening.” Achin adds, “Not just that, we are reading lots of scripts too.” Indeed, ‘mehnat aur rhemat’ is the key for Guneet. Double down, you bet is another favourite word of hers. No prizes for guessing her gyaarah gyaarah wish is another Oscar, for Anuja, produced by Mindy Kaling among others. Can Guneet manifest it again for 1.4 billion Indians? Fingers crossed. First test would be on January 17 when Oscar nominations will be out. And even making it to the final five, feels Guneet will be an honour.
