Guneet Monga dedicates the second highest civilian French honour to ‘every girl with a dream’

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Known for backing unusual subjects for films like <em>Lunchbox</em> and <em>Masaan</em>, producer Guneet Monga, has been awarded the second highest civilian French honour, the prestigious Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, or Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.</p>
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Monga was honoured with Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters at the Embassy of France in New Delhi by the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday.</p>
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♥️💫 <a href="https://t.co/GIVyKUofEu">https://t.co/GIVyKUofEu</a></p>
— Guneet Monga (@guneetm) <a href="https://twitter.com/guneetm/status/1382341879249915906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The award was given as a recognition for her contribution to the world cinema through her Indo-French productions and "her relentless work towards women empowerment", a statement read.</p>
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The 37-year-old filmmaker said she had constantly striven to champion women empowerment through her work. She dedicated the honour to "every girl with a dream".</p>
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Further she said, "Even though the honour has mine and my family's name on it, I dedicate this award to every girl with a dream. Continue to dream freely and create fearlessly. The universe is always conspiring in favour of the brave and I stand here as a proof of that! May our tribe rise.”</p>
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Expressing her gratitude and respect for French cinema and on being honoured, Monga on Wednesday posted a series of tweets. Being a huge admirer of French cinema, Monga said receiving the honour was a "special" moment.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://www.indianarrative.com/upload/news/Guneet_Monga1.jpg" style="width: 800px; height: 1198px;" /></p>
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<em>Guneet Monga</em></p>
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In her tweet she said: "I've been in awe of French Cinema even since I began my career as a filmmaker hence being honoured with this title is extremely special for me — it feels like my life and my work has come full circle today.”</p>
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"Being honoured with the title 'Chevalier dans I'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres' is extremely special for me…With my content, I've constantly striven to uplift women's narratives in cinema. I'm grateful for this honour and would like to share it with my co-founders of Indian Women Rising and my entire team at Sikhya entertainment.</p>
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Her production company, Sikhya Entertainment, Monga has spearheaded several acclaimed Indo-French productions, including actor Irrfan Khan-starrer <em>The Lunchbox</em>, filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan's 2015 drama <em>Masaan</em> and <em>Taj Mahal</em>.</p>
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<em>The Lunchbox</em> won Critics Week Viewers Choice Award at the 66th Cannes Film Festival.</p>
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Her other film productions were also screened and honoured at the prestigious festival, including Vasan Bala's <em>Peddlers</em>, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap's <em>Gangs of Wasseypur</em>, <em>Monsoon Shootout</em> and <em>Masaan</em>.</p>
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Recently she joined hands with producer Ekta Kapoor and author-director Tahira Kashyap to launch cinema collective – Indian Women Rising.</p>
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Monga's recent release is the Sanya Malhotra-starrer digital film <em>Pagglait</em>. She has also executive produced journalist-filmmaker Vinod Kapri's documentary film <em>1232 Kms</em>.</p>
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The Foreign Minister Le Drian said both, India and France, share the same passion for cinema.</p>
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"I was proud to congratulate Indian and French women producers for their Indo-French collaborations and for their work towards gender equality in this field. The Embassy of France in India will also play its part, through this agreement with the Collectif 50/50. Gender equality is the foremost priority of France's foreign policy," he said.</p>
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Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France rewards contributors across the globe under three categories – Commandeur, Officier and Chevalier.</p>
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Earlier, prominent names like Hollywood star Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruce Willis have been felicitated with the Commandeur title while Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have won the Officier title.</p>
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Pop star Shakira, Kamal Hassan and actor-filmmaker Nandita Das are the previous awardees of Chevalier title.</p>