27th February, Mumbai: Guneet Monga and her production house Sikhya Entertainment, have signed Umesh Bist, director of Pagglait, for the second time. Having always supported young directors, Guneet and her production house are known for picking offbeat stories and Pagglait (2021) starring Sanya Malhotra was one such success story.
Guneet Monga says, “Umesh is a prolific storyteller who has a deep and delicate understanding of human emotions, which is his USP. That’s why the moving and extraordinary story of Pagglait touched the hearts of so many people. This is Sikhya’s second collaboration with Umesh Bist”.
Meanwhile, Sikhya’s documentary short film The Elephant Whisperers on Netflix is headed to the 95th Oscars. The Elephant Whisperers directed by Kartiki Gonsalves is the story of an indigenous couple in south India, who bonds with an orphaned elephant, Raghu, to become his caretaker. The film has been nominated among the top five documentary shorts globally by The Academy, which happens to be the third Oscar nomination for producer Guneet Monga.
Monga has previously been nominated for her short film Kavi (2010), Period. End of Sentence (where she was an executive producer) (2018) that won an Oscar and now, The Elephant Whisperers (2022).