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What should be Indian entry to Oscars this time?
Pickle, an online journal on the entertainment industry, believed to be backed by one industry body, has reported that the Film Federation of India (FFI) has started the process to select the Indian entry for the Best Foreign Film Oscar in the 80th Academy Award.
It says that a cross section of industry experts and critics contacted by it “squared in on” Feroz Abbas Khan’s Gandhi My Father (Hindi), Ameer Sultan’s Paruthiveeran (Tamil) and Maniratnam’s Guru (Hindi) as their favourite choice for nomination from India for the Oscars.
Some of the other films that are in the “radar of Oscar watchers” are Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Eklavya (Hindi), Shanker’s Sivaji (Tamil), Radhamohan’s Mozhi (Tamil) and Rosshan Andrews’ Notebook (Malayalam), it claims. But it adds the rider, “Analysts appreciated the films listed in this para but were not confident to bet on any of these movies.”
According to Pickle, Gandhi My Father and Paruthiveeran stand out in the list as they are unique films from India to get nominated in the best foreign language film category.
FFI has asked the regional associations to submit movies for preview, and is likely to announce the nomination from India by end September.
Keeping in mind the fact that a film released between Oct 1 of the previous year and Sept 30 of the current year can theoritically enter for the Oscar Award (in any category, though except for the Best Foreign Film award all others would have to have a theatrical release in USA to be eligible) for the coming year, let’s find out which are the films PFCians think should compete to become the Indian entry this year.
Also, let’s debate a few points here:
1. Over the years, FFI has sent in some strange entries from India (eg Jeans), which will only get jeers from the Academy voters. Why?
2. Has the FFI ever sent a film by India’s acclaimed masters - Ray, Adoor, Bimal Roy, Benegal - to the Oscars? Or will it ever send a film by the new age filmmakers like Sudhir Mishra, Anurag Kashyap and so on (at least Amir Sultan’s name finds a mention in the Pickle report)?
3. Why cannot the Best Feature Film award winner at the National Awards be nominated as the Indian entry to the Oscars (of course, there is a problem here, as the time span for award eligibility for the National Awards and Oscars are different - Jan 1-Dec 31 of the previous year for the former)?
4. How would you compare the Indian entries for the last few years with the ultimate winner (for eg, Lagaan with No Man’s Land, which pipped the former for the Best Foreign Language Oscar)?
5. Which are the Indian films that you thought deserved to be nominated over that year’s FFI nominee - since the Oscars started - and why?
6. Finally, do we take the Oscars too seriously? After all, this is mainly a focus on the Hollywood industry, with a minor award for the best foreign film thrown in! And Indian cinema has won major awards in every major film festival over the years, from Neecha Nagar (1946) onwards. So, why fuss over the Oscars, if we negate the fact that just because of the media blitzkrieg it gets the biggest hype, even more than the awards given by prestigious festivals like Cannes, Venice, Berlin and so on?
By the way, I have tried to search online for all the Indian entries to the Oscars over the years, but could not locate any resource. Can anyone suggest?
55 Responses to “What should be Indian entry to Oscars this time?”
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For me it has to be “Black Friday” and nothing else…….. it touches upon everything, does not give judgement and somewhere disturbs you but thats good because only then we start thinking on our own. and of course the direction——which is so very unique & honest. I could smell the blood and sweat behind it when i saw it.
So this year the entry and winner is Black friday…… at least for me
definitely black friday and nothing else …is there any other movie even worth the mention???
Great article! I second the point no. 6. Why do we here take Oscar soooooooooo seriously? It seems that Oscar is the ONE AND ONLY thing which can give the film its due credit. Why? Scorsese made Raging Bull, Goodfellas longggg before he made The Departed. Only this year, Academy thought that it’d be a sin not to honour the genius.
Chaplin, Kurosawa, Welles, Bergman, Fellini, Hitchcock and some other great directors never got an Oscar. Does THAT make them any less great to us? What can you say when award is given to Lives of Others over Pan’s Labyrinth or Volver? There’s very little to talk about.
Speaking of this year, I can’t even think of it if GURU or EKLAVYA or GMF goes there. I see these films from the same POVs like most of the PFCians. It’s a pity that BF is not mentioned here. I haven’t seen the Tamil ones so I can’t comment on that. On the industry experts and critics, it must be Taran Adarsh who suggested these names. Just browse his reviews!
Speaking of my personal choices (strictly personal POV.), I certainly feel, there’s been “only” 2 good movies this year which deserve to be shortlisted for Oscars.
1)No surprises here. It’s BLACK FRIDAY hands down. Nothing in this movie went wrong. A film that changed everything!
2)This is another movie I loved this year. It’d be CHAK DE! INDIA. Reason: it doesn’t portray the archetypal “oscar-bound” India with songs-n-dance. The treatment is different with some brilliant performances and gripping screenplay. Some may argue that movies like this one have been done to death by Hollywood. Then again, that’s my personal opinion. Also, it has a favourable “Academy” situation going with it that its script was invited there.
That’s it! Once again, a great article!^:)^
“The Blue Umbrella” - I have not seen the film, but If I had to have a blind guess/pick, then I would pick the Vishal’s adaptation of Ruskin Bond’s….
Because, it sort of got an Indian feel, but still it could touch everyone’s heart. It is their sort of movie but still an Indian movie.
But it was made in year 2005; although, it got theatrical release this year, so can it be picked?
Yeah! I haven’t seen TBU. But, it can certainly be selected.
Another “good” movie this “oscar” year was Kabul Express. I am not sure if it deserves to be sent there, though.
I partially agree with point no. 6. We dont need to take oscar seriously. But also we dont need to bask on the point that we won awards on almost all the prestigious festivals around the world. The reason is we never send our best to Oscar (as opposed to festivals where the filmmaker themselves take their movies, in oscar Indian govt elects a panel to deem the best). The oscar panel usually selects crap in the name of Indian sensibility, which is reflected in the fact that we never made in to last five more than a couple of times.
However, I am of the opinion that foreign film category is the most competitive one in oscar.
Oscar do have a history of goofing up but its not so vivid in foreign film category. One can even argue the goofing ups in Cannes (though relatively much less than Oscar).
My choice would be Black Friday.
I’d probably go with the rest who want to nominate Black Friday. Keeping in mind that it was appreciated at the film festivals it was screened, it could be a very good pick. Besides, it’s not your regular Indian flick; it’ll provide a different Indian genre. Even Kabul Express and Chak De India are good choices because they are not run-of-the-mill. I haven’t seen The Blue Umbrella and the South Indian suggestions. But I have a liking for Vishal Bhardwaj, so I’d bet on its quality. He was very unlucky that Omkara was released in a year when there were so many other good contenders for the Oscar nomination.
1. I can’t think of too many reasons why the FFI would send nominate entries like Jeans. My guess is that there weren’t any movies worthy of being sent; but then again, we do produce a ton of movies, something’s got to be decent enough. Another could be the committee itself is unqualified to make the selection.
2. Will they send a film by the ‘new-age directors’? Who knows?? It’s not in our hands to select the committee and it’s probably not in our hands to guess if they will select a movie directed by new-age directors.
3. It’s not a bad idea to send the National Award Winner for the Oscars. But keeping in mind that the Oscar selection panel might have a different taste in cinema. For e.g., in 2005, Page 3 won the National Award, but I doubt it would’ve appealed to the Oscar selection panel much. Apparently, there’s some particular factors that appeal to them; I don’t know what!
4. No comment, haven’t seen Nights of Cabiria, Pelle the Conqueror and No Man’s Land. I think in general, the length of the Indian film kinda turns them off. They need something shorter.
5. Last year, there were a lot of good films that would’ve been good entries for the Oscar. Omkara was so unlucky, I think Shakespeare adaptation might’ve really impressed the Oscars. Even Khosla Ka Ghosla was great (I recently watched it with a Hungarian and she quite liked it, found it a little long but everybody else finds them long). There’ve been a lot more that were worth sending (don’t know if they were selected eventually) : 1947 Earth, The Terrorist (Tamil),
6. The Oscars aren’t a big deal, agreed. They are not the end all and be all of cinematic awards. But what it does is gives foreign language, not just Indian, cinema an immense amount of perspective. Even getting nominated in the top 5 is enough to get you noticed. And especially so if an ‘off-beat’ Indian movie is selected. Most foreigners think that Indian cinema is all about dance and music; some of the desi public also thinks the same. If something like Black Friday gets selected, it’ll show that Indian cinema has something different to offer; it’ll shatter the myth of the Indian musical. More Indian films will be represented at film festivals worldwide; we make so much cinema, we deserve to be represented more often. And the fact that it’s going to get so much publicity on Indian media, means that more people in India will want to watch such kinds of cinema. So as an award, the Oscar is nothing different from the next one. But as far as proliferation and publicity go, it’s hard to compete with.
Found this link for Indian Oscar entries (apparently, we haven’t sent one each year) - http://zulm.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=8197&sid=c3cb687b5081d33db689107315a14127&p=78343
Just like to remind the people-
Mother India made by Mehboob Khan lost to Federico Fellini
@Vinayak
LMAO!!!
conspiracy theories?
Vinakay, you missed one thing in the list. Jeans sent to Oscar in foreign lang category, 1998 :d
I vote AGAINST sending Black Friday to the Oscars because I do not think it stands a chance. Let me clarify: Black Friday is a great movie. One of my all time favorites. But, while it tackles an accessible theme like terrorism, it’s complex content and investigative nature will alienate the academy voters. The sheer amount of names and dates and places and events are recognizable by Indians who are familiar with the riots of 93. But for someone who is not, it can turn into a very confusing experience.
My vote is for Rajnesh Domalpalli’s “Vanaja”. A splendid, yet simple human drama about a young girl coming of age. Not only is it strong on character, but also makes strong statements about rural society and the class system. A beautifully directed and performed film that has screened in a plethora of international festivals and won numerous awards, it really should top the FFI list. The sad thing is nobody in the committe has probably even heard of the film.
KHOSLA KA GHOSLA….THE BEST MOVIE OF THIS DECADE…I m not sure abt its date of release…
Are you asking what film should India send to the Academy that represents the best of Indian film? Or, which film should India send that stands a chance of winning the Oscar?
Black Friday is an amazing film, but doesn’t stand a chance of being considered for an Oscar. Neither does Khosla ka Ghosla. Neither of these films is accessible to a widespread American audience, and especially not the dowagers that make up the members of the Academy who select and vote on foreign films.
Chak de is an idea, while it lacks the usual “toil and suffering” heros and heroines that the Academy loves, it is accessible and enjoyable.
The Blue Umbrella is currently not a candidate for the Oscar as it hasn’t had a US release. But, from what I have seen and heard, this is a film that would be a serious contender.
Another PFC author once pointed out that the best films from India may not be the best films for the Academy, hence my original question - are you thinking of which films stand a chance of being nominated, or which films deserve to be sent? They are not the same thing.
Blue Umbrella might be our best shot….Havent seen Paruthi veeran so….. Gandhi My father - as per reviews goes I dont think it should be nominated.
Guru
ramgopal verma ki aag…..maybe we are failing to understand its intrensic hidden humor …trust me it will stand a chance…and it might get a best supporting to “gungroo” too….
RGV’s Aag! Trust me - no one in the Oscar committee would have seen Sholay and they will love this new Babban and his asthmatic laughter and his Al Quaeda analogies.
raj beat me to it.
I don’t think TBU can win - it has to be Vanaja or Aag.
wb….well i looked at aag as the craziest joke cracked on 100 million people….how tough it can be to make the 2500 odd academy members impressed…..? on a second thought “jhoom barabar” also stand a chance…
@Vijay
I’ve heard a lot about Vanaja; apparently, it’s gone to lots of prominent film festivals, probably the only Indian film which has done regular rounds of worldwide festivals. I missed it when it came to Cleveland; opted for other foreign language films. But yeah, I guess it’s a good pick.
welli wanted to say just wat raj said ..may be we falied to understand aag , but i thinki kinda beat me to it ..:d
For that matter, we might as well send Partner as the official entry. Then it’ll have them thinking : “Yeh maine kidhar toh dekhela hai ….. *-:) cha maaila !! *-:) Yeh toh wo-ich hai!”
Two different people - miles apart - have same thought - and decide to post same thought at the same time. How strange!
on a serious note guys, if all the movie realeased by 2007 is eligable, and if “mithya” realeses this year….its a goooood film.
WB-ji/Raj, you know, I would not mind reading your review of “Aag”. A different opinion (albeit a bit sarcastic), perhaps.
I still have not got around to watch the film….! :((
vanaja is the film if you want to get the award
HG saheb // don’t rush. take your time. and don’t wait for any pirated dvds. news is that even the pirates are not interested in Aag. this is probably the first bollywood movie that will achieve a 100% anti-piracy. RGV ji ki jai ho!!
lol… d’oh and here i was having a slight hope that you guys will come up with a thesis which would explain the meaning of “Aag” and why people failed to understand it.. oh well..
i have not seen “Vanaja”, but again taking a blind shot, imo, “Vanaja” would not win the awards - yes, it won so many festivals, got great reviews, the story is a bit authentic (depressing) and rural-ish, which could/would attract the jury, etc.. but “Memoirs of a Geisha” was only released a couple of years ago and the jury will find the both film similar (albeit, both having a different story). it would work against it..
For some reason I thought Vanaja was a US production, not an Indian one….
Vanaja has EVERYTHING the academy looks for in a foreign film. And, it is a really, really, really good film. I saw it five months ago and still think about it all the time.
AK is right, for the Oscar, this is the film. For the film lover, see this when you can. It is truly a rare gem of a film…
You can’t submit Aag, the Academy will be confused at the Babban character, why is he stumbling around and nearly drooling, yet he isn’t scary and this film isn’t quite a horror film. No one will understand that it wasn’t supposed to be a horror film, and that it wasn’t supposed to be scary.
Also, Guru is not a good film, to watch or to submit. Like BF and Khosla ka Ghosla, if you aren’t Indian, the film makes little sense.
Although BF and KKG aren’t easily understood by the average American because they are so specific to their core audience, Guru makes no sense because it seems that everyone who loved this film loved it because the knew the back-story and filled in the plot-holes with their own knowledge. I didn’t know the back story, and saw a thinly drawn cast of characters who did nothing interesting. Definitely not Oscar material.
t!, am SO in agreement with you on Guru and the other movies on why they would/would not make good nominations.
Vanaja just released in NYC, so going to try to see it this week!
Shripriya,
Contact me after you see it. There is something that struck me about the film that sticks with me, but since I saw it with the PFC LA crew, and they are all men, they really didn’t see things the same way that I did. I would love a female opinion on the film. Hell, you should write a post about it…
I will and I will… :)
@t!, I am not trying to defend Guru or push it for any award that it does not deserve,however I would just like to differ on what you said about there being a back story for it to be liked. The film worked for me independent of any strings(Mani sir, ‘commercial’, Dhirubhai connection).It was a simple, enjoyable narrative with all departments working in unison to create a memorable film. I hope we view the film in isolation some day to give it its due, good or bad but at least just.
Though its long back that I used to ferociously discuss Guru, just came across your comment so thought would clarify on that.
As for Oscars, I honestly think its a waste of time thinking what suits them and what not. Its a end justifies means exercise, and would not do any good for a film if its purely tailor made for the selections.
I would love to check out Vanaja. Have heard great views on it before as well.
Has any1 here seen this Marathi movie called SHEVRI…i hd mentioned it in the post on Gangot…its directed by Gajendra ahire…i think its really good…but dunno if it qualifies
Utpal: You say it is an online journal. Couldn’t find it on the web. What is the URL please?
Forget it. It is the IBEF-backed journal: (http://www.ibef.org/artdisplay.aspx?cat_id=173&art_id=16428).
Rather a pamphlet/mouthpiece. Interestingly IBEF is an “An initiative of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry”
Dharam!
Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Aami Yasmin O Amar Madhubala if it can release this month… Otherwise Chak De! India for sure… Let Yash Raj campaign full-on with SRK up front… Oscars obviously these days is all about campaigning… The money and the muscle must must must! And whoever said Oscars are not important can continue to lie to themselves… It’s the only international benchmark… It’s as important as a Booker if you are writing books and a Nobel if you are doing anything else…
I think we should sent RGV ki Aag :(( :(( :(( :((
And what if it goes on to win it Surya? What would be Ramuspeak?
Surendra,
The oscar wallahs will screw us for being such sadistic bastards if we do that.
@pratim ramuspeak wud be something like this
: i seriously need to rethink my career . i need to move to hollywood and remake Shiva
Kishore: it’s also available on picklemag.com. I wrote “believed to be backed” as though it is backed by CII, it is nowhere mentioned in the site. IBEF is also an initiative backed by CII. As the site describes “India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) is a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, and the Confederation of Indian Industry”.
There are some great movies that have released this year- Black Friday, Metro, Chak De, Dharm…and of course my personal favorite- The Blue Umbrella. Still, I don’t really think any of them has any Oscar potential as such, irrespective of how good they really are. Honestly, I don’t think something so futile even needs discussion- the last time we truly produced something Oscar-worthy, it got nominated…after that, I haven’t really seen anything that matches Lagaan’s standard. Besides, to qualify for the Oscars, you need a certain ‘Oscaric’ kind of cinema which we don’t generally produce. The Oscars’ standards are falling every year in any case…Aag may actually be a good idea. On a more serious note, let us concentrate on making and promoting good cinema in our country, so that it actually gains the potential to make waves internationally (and I don’t mean the OSCARS)…
I think we should not analyse much…whether THEY will understand it or not?, will it be confusing to them, do they know about facts, blah….
A GREAT movie is a GREAT movie… and there it ends…..it deserves to win if it touches you, shakes you, makes you think, makes you stick to your seats till credit rolls.
If you start getting too deep into it, i can find 100 reasons why none of them should be sent
And i think BF is a GREAT movie…..
Aur Anurag bhai, aap bhi kamaal karte ho… bowler hee jabb appeal nahin karega to fielder to hatotsahit ho hee jaayenge naa :((
@!t - Vanaja is a US production in that it was Rajnesh’s thesis film at Columbia. To my knowledge it was independently financed. If the FFI wanted to send it to the Oscars, there is no reason the filmmakers would refuse to send it in as an Indian entry.
what abt “Dor” or was that last year…? I think that was a great work.
BLACK FRIDAY!
Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehnaa
I really cannot believe I forgot about this, but as exceptional as Vanaja is, Shivajee Chandrabhushan’s “FROZEN” is probably and even better film to send to the Oscars. Somebody please send the FFI a screener!!!
I did my research on the same topic.
For data about Indian Entries for the Oscars
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_India%27s_official_entries_to_the_Oscars
Regards,
Rahul
My vote is for Shyamprasad’s ORE KADAL
and Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s FOUR WOMEN