Vinta Nanda calls out ‘flawed’ Oscars system: Technically, Priyanka Chopra and Guneet Monga aren't Anuja prouducers

Veteran TV director Vinta Nanda said executive producers like Guneet Monga and Priyanka Chopra “shouldn’t be going up on the stage and collecting” Oscars.

Adam J Graves and Suchitra Mattai's Delhi-set short film Anuja is the only Indian representation at Oscars 2025. Producers Guneet Monga, Priyanka Chopra, and Mindy Kaling expressed their gratitude after the film was nominated in the Best Live Action Short category. (Also Read: Priyanka Chopra shares glimpses of early morning temple visit in Hyderabad, fuels rumours about signing Rajamouli's next)

Vinta Nanda says Priyanka Chopra and Guneet Monga are hijacking spotlight for Anuja at Oscars 2025.

Vinta Nanda calls out ‘flawed’ Oscars system

Veteran TV producer, writer, and director Vinta Nanda, however, questioned the three producers hijacking all the spotlight. On Friday, she took to her Instagram handle and shared a cryptic post, stating, “Systems are so flawed now. Curators walk away with the Oscar nominations and awards as producers and the struggle of the artists and their producers is completely eclipsed. What kind of a world are we living in?”

Actor-director Ananth Mahadevan also commented on her post, “It’s all about connections/ networking, the works… your own work is invisible and of no interest to these influential forces.” Vinta replied to him, “We have to call it out now. Enough is enough,” to which Ananth responded, “Too powerful and influential people at work. The kind who refuse to acknowledge you or even consider your work. Unexplained bias towards those who quietly go about their business.”

Vinta's dig at Anuja ‘producers’

In an interview with News18, Vinta explained who her dig is directed towards. “The producers of Anuja are featured nowhere near Guneet Monga and Priyanka Chopra. Theirs are the first two names featured in the list of producers. I’m sure Anuja is a brilliant film much like The Elephant Whisperers. But it’s becoming a norm year after year that after a film gets made, well-recognisable names with great network suddenly come and become producers.”

“What they’re actually doing is curating and becoming part and parcel of the profits and business of the film. Technically, they aren’t the producers. They shouldn’t be going up on the stage and collecting those awards. People involved with marketing, taking the film from the producers – after it’s ready – to festivals and lobbying, get credit for the film, which they haven’t even partaken in. They should be making sure that the team that has actually produced the film takes the honour," she added.

Vinta added that she doesn't want to target only Priyanka and Guneet, but the Oscars and film festival system at large. She argued that since Guneet is an Academy member and shares a “symbiotic” relationship with the body, they should both introspect whether it's fair to pick only the films backed by Guneet, or look beyond, find the lesser known films, and give their makers the due credit.

Anuja is pitted against A Lien, I'm Not a Robot, The Last Ranger, and The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent at Oscars 2025. Anuja follows a gifted nine-year-old Anuja, who must make a choice between education and factory work alongside her sister — a decision that will shape both their futures. It stars Sajda Pathan and Ananya Shanbhag. Guneet earlier produced the 2023 Academy Award-winning documentary short film The Elephant Whisperers.