Oscar 2025: All You Need To Know About Guneet Monga's Short Film 'Anuja'
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) revealed the shortlisted films eligible for nomination in the 97th edition of the Oscars. While India’s entry for the Best International Feature Film, Laapataa Ladies, was out of the race, the country is pinning its hopes on Anuja, a live-action short film produced by Guneet Monga Kapoor.
Directed by Adam J Graves, Anuja has been shortlisted for Oscars in the Best Live Action Short Film category.
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The short film narrates the story of two sisters. When a precocious nine-year-old girl who works in a back-alley garment factory is offered a rare chance to attend a boarding school, she faces a choice that will determine the fate of her future and her family. The film primarily focuses on child labour and the value of education.
Released in June 2024 in the United States, the film’s cast includes Nagesh Bhonsle, Sajda Pathan, Gulshan Walia, and Ananya Shanbhag in key roles. There is an interesting story behind the makers choosing to highlight the issue of child labour.
Graves discovered the unsettling statistics of child labour prevalent in India. Nearly one in ten children under the age of fifteen is subjected to child labour in the country. This is the beginning of Anuja.
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He said, “The figure seemed very real to us. Our children were about that age, and they are descendants of indentured labourers from the state of Uttar Pradesh. It was disquieting to think that this ancestral past was a living present for over one hundred and sixty million children around the world.”
The grim reality made Graves feel there was an important story here, or rather an entire universe of stories waiting to be told and brought to light. His constant research of child labour led him to several trusts, meeting child labourers, visiting their homes, observing their work, and meeting their families.
Moved by the resilience of the young minds, the director decided to capture the wondrous combination of magic and emotion, of innocence and mischief, which is part of childhood itself—these are kids after all, not statistics.
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Anuja is produced by Suchitra Mattai with additional producers including actress Mindy Kaling, Shine Global’s Alexandra Blaney, Krushan Naik (Resurgence), and Aaron Kopp (Saving Face, Liyana, Hunting Ground).
Guneet Monga’s earlier production The Elephant Whisperers won in the Best Documentary Short Film category at Oscars 2024. The film brings a third Oscar nomination for Monga, as her previous projects including Period: End of Sentence, have secured nominations and won the prestigious Academy Awards.
The Live-Action Short Film category has other amazing contenders as well including Clodagh, The Compatriot, Crust, Dovecote, Edge of Space, The Ice Cream Man, I’m Not a Robot, The Last Ranger, A Lien, The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent, among others.
