India shines at Oscars, 'Period. End of Sentence' wins Documentary Short Subject
The Short Film is based on Menstruation
Los Angeles, Feb 25: A film on menstruation, set in rural India, titled Period. End of Sentence, has won the Oscar in the Documentary Short Subject category at the 91st Academy Awards.
Award-winning filmmaker Rayka Zehtabchi has directed the short film, which has been produced by Indian producer Guneet Monga's Sikhya Entertainment.
The film came to into being as a part of The Pad Project, started by students at the Oakwood School in Los Angeles and their teacher, Melissa Berton.
I'm not crying because I'm on my period or anything. I can't believe a film on menstruation won an Oscar, Zehtabchi said in her acceptance speech.
She also gave a nod to Monga.
Guneet Monga - know that you have been empowering women all over the world fight for menstrual equality, she added.
Dedicating the award to her school, Berton said the project was born because her students in LA and people in India wanted to make a human rights difference .
I share this award with the Feminist Majority Foundation, the entire team and cast. I share this with the teachers and students around the worlds - a period should end a sentence, not a girl's education, she said.
The documentary feature is set in Hapur village outside Delhi, where women lead a quiet revolution as they fight against the deeply rooted stigma of menstruation.
For generations, these women did not have access to sanitary pads, which lead to health issues and girls dropping out from schools.
When a sanitary pad vending machine is installed in the village, the women learn to manufacture and market their own pads, empowering their community. They name their brand FLY .
"WE WON!!! To every girl on this earth... know that you are a goddess... if heavens are listening... look MA we put @sikhya on the map," Monga tweeted after the win.
Other documentary shorts nominated in the category were "Black Sheep", "End Game", "Lifeboat" and "A Night at the Garden".
There has been an increased focus on period hygiene in India, which was also the subject of a mainstream Bollywood movie Padman , starring Akshay Kumar in the lead role in a biopic on Arunachalam Muruganantham, who started making low cost pads in his village despite being ostracised.
India's moment at the Oscars comes exactly a decade after A R Rahman and sound engineer Resul Pookutty won the Academy awards for "Slumdog Millionaire" in 2009.
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Cong seeks thorough probe into Goa nightclub fire; Rahul alleges criminal failure of governance
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Sunday demanded a comprehensive investigation and strict accountability for the tragic fire at a nightclub in Goa that killed 25 people, with Rahul Gandhi claiming it was a criminal failure of safety and governance.
The fire broke out at Birch by Romeo Lane, a popular nightclub at Arpora village in North Goa, early Sunday, killing at least 25 people, including four tourists and 14 staff members, and injuring six others.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge expressed his deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones in the blaze.
“This avoidable tragic incident is an irreparable loss, and I pray for the speedy recovery of all those who have been injured.
ALSO READ: https://english.varthabharati.in/india/25-killed-6-injured-in-fire-at-nightclub-in-goa
“Such tragedies call for a comprehensive investigation, strict accountability, and immediate steps to ensure that all fire safety norms are enforced, so that such devastating incidents are never repeated,” Kharge said in a post on X.
The veteran leader also appealed to all the Congress workers in the coastal region to extend every possible support and assistance to the affected families and stand with them in this hour of grief.
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, said he was deeply pained by the tragic fire in Arpora.
“My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and wishes for the speedy recovery of the injured. This is not just an accident; it is a criminal failure of safety and governance. A thorough, transparent probe must fix accountability and ensure such preventable tragedies don't occur again,” Gandhi said in an X post.
Congress general secretary in charge of organisation, K C Venugopal, sought fixing of accountability for the tragic blaze so that such incidents are not repeated.
"The fire at a night club in Arpora, Goa, is shocking and I convey my heartfelt sympathies to the families of the victims who lost their lives.
"This tragedy took place because of the negligence of the authorities in enforcing fire safety norms. We urge a thorough and impartial investigation to identify those responsible and to ensure accountability, so that such a tragedy is never repeated," he said in a post on X.
Deeply pained by the tragic fire in Arpora, Goa that claimed more than 20 lives. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and wishes for the speedy recovery of the injured.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 7, 2025
This is not just an accident, it is a criminal failure of safety and governance. A thorough,…
