Oscar is testimony of 20 years of hard work: Sneha, Suman of 'Period. End of Sentence.'

Winning the Oscar for Best Documentary Short was not an easy task for the makers of India-based documentary 'Period. End of Sentence' as it required hard work and struggle of 20 years, said Sneha and Suman, who has featured in the short film. The film which tackles the stigma of menstruation in the country, today created history at the 91st Academy Awards after winning in the best documentary short.

"This was not a day's struggle, the award bears testimony to 20 years of hard labor. Shabana, Usha, Shashi, Shushila, and Anita. Our unit team included seven workers - Sneha, Rakhi, Sushma, Rinki, Preeti, Ruksana and Arsi. It would have been difficult to make this film and fight for this cause without them," Sneha told ANI.

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"We have received success today on a topic on which we can't even talk about in public. Periods, which are looked down upon in the society, we have been able to work towards raising awareness about it. Our aim is not just to sell sanitary napkins. Our aim is to make people accept cleanliness during periods. We want all women to understand this and take care of their hygiene. If our voice reaches to a single girl, then we feel we have received success," Suman added.

The 26-minute short documentary, co-produced by Guneet Monga and directed by 25-year-old Rayka Zehtabchi, follows a group of women in Hapur, India who lead a quiet revolution as they fight against the stigma of menstruation that is deeply rooted in society. For generations, the women of the village did not have access to sanitary pads, which lead to health issues among them. When a sanitary pad is installed in their village, the women learn to manufacture and market their own pads, naming it 'FLY.' The film was nominated along with 'Black Sheep,' 'End Game,' 'Lifeboat' and 'A Night At The Garden' in the category.

Sneha's family also expressed their joy over the win. Her brother Kapil while speaking to ANI, said, “It is based on my sister’s life, but not just my sister, everyone related to the film should get credit for the film’s win. The director and actors of the film, all deserve the award. It’s a very happy moment for all of us.”

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Sneha’s friend and co-worker Sushma also expressed her happiness and said, “I am feeling very happy and proud. We come from a small village and we didn’t know about this earlier. We had worked very hard on this and so we are feeling very proud. We are very happy that the movie based on our company and our work has got an award.”

Besides them, Bollywood too erupted with happiness. From Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra, Vicky Kaushal, and Neha Dhupia to Dia Mirza and Mini Mathur, various B-Town celebrities took to Twitter to congratulate the film’s team on the big win.