"India's Moment Taken Away From Me": Guneet Monga "Disheartened" At Not Being Allowed To Give Oscars Acceptance Speech
Guneet Monga, in an interview with The Times of India, has said that she is "disheartened" at not being able to deliver her fully prepared speech on stage.
Oscars 2023 was a proud moment for India as two films from the country -- 'The Elephant Whisperers' and 'RRR' won Oscars. While 'The Elephant Whisperers' won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film, 'RRR' song 'Naatu Naatu' won Best Original Song. If you watched the ceremony on Monday morning, you would be aware of how Guneet Monga was cut off on stage before she was about to deliver an acceptance speech. She was barely able to speak a word before the orchestra played her off stage.
For the unversed, Guneet Monga is the producer of 'The Elephant Whisperers'.
The clip has also gone viral on social media. Several users have blasted The Academy for their behaviour. Many have also suggested that there was a racial angle as other winners were allowed to exceed their allotted 45 seconds on stage.
Here is the clip of Guneet Monga being cut off on the stage:
An Indian woman who won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film was played off from giving her award speech right before 2 white men were allowed to finish their speeches. This is so blatant and disrespectful. @TheAcademy owes Guneet Monga an apology.pic.twitter.com/MACrm1vB5u
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) March 15, 2023
Now, Guneet Monga, in an interview with The Times of India, has said that she is "disheartened" at not being able to deliver her fully prepared speech on stage.
"I am extremely disheartened that my speech was cut off. There was a shock on my face. I just wanted to say it's India's first Oscar in Indian production, which is such a huge thing. My heart started racing as I couldn't have come so far and not be heard. Western media is pulling up The Academy that I did not get to speak. People are so offended that I did not get the chance to deliver my speech," said Guneet Monga in the interview.
"There are videos and tweets online expressing disappointment that I couldn't get to speak. This was India's moment taken away from me. But then, I thought it's okay, I'll come back here and I will make sure I'm heard. I have got multiple opportunities to share my thoughts and its heartening to receive all the love. So a little empathy can go a long way here," she added.
When asked whether she had any star-struck moment at Oscars 2023, Guneet Monga said: "I am in awe of Michelle Yeoh speech, especially when she said, “Ladies, don’t let anybody tell you that you are past your prime.” I think she spoke for every woman in the world."
India's 'The Elephant Whisperers' made it big at Oscars 2023 as the Netflix documentary ended up winning the Best Documentary Short Film.
Director Kartiki Gonsalves and producer Guneet Monga went up to the stage to pick up the award, and it was Kartiki Gonsalves who gave a speech.
'The Elephant Whisperers' beat 'Haulout', 'How do you Measure a Year', 'The Martha Mitchell Effect', and 'Stranger at the Gate' to pick up the win in the Best Documentary Short Film category.
