‘India’s moment was taken away on the Oscars stage’

Indian Oscar winners were recently celebrating their achievements, with the song “Naatu Naau” from “RRR” and Guneet Monga and Kartiki Gonsalves’s documentary “The Elephant Whisperers” both taking home awards. However, netizens were left fuming when the Academy organizers cut off Guneet Monga’s acceptance speech.

At the Oscars, each winner is given 45 seconds to make an acceptance speech. Kartiki used 43 seconds of her allotted time to speak about respecting the natural world, indigenous communities, and coexistence. When Guneet started to speak, her speech was abruptly cut off, and music began to play.

However, a netizen later discovered that other winners had been given more than 45 seconds for their speeches. For example, Charles Mackesy and Matthew Freud’s acceptance speech for Best Animated Short, which went over 45 seconds, was not cut off. This led to outrage on Twitter, with many people viewing it as an insult to Indians.

Netizens called for Indians to stand up to this perceived insult and protest. They expressed their disappointment that Guneet Monga’s moment was ruined and called for fair treatment and respect for all Oscar winners.

Guneet Monga, who is back in India too, responded to the same, saying, “I was extremely disheartened. There was a shock on my face. I just wanted to say it’s India’s first Oscar in Indian production…This was India’s moment taken away from me.”