In the past 55 years, in which India has been sending entries for the Best International Feature Film Oscar, it has happened only on three occasions that the selected films, despite some of them being critically acclaimed both in India and abroad, made it to the Oscars Is. Nomination Shortlist. A dismal record, if any, calls into question the selection process. Three films in this rather bald list are the Nargis-Sunil Dutt classic “Mother India” (1957), Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay” (1988) and Ashutosh Gowariker’s. Aamir Khan-Starrer “Lagaan” (2001).
This year, the official selection – “Chello Show”, a Gujarati film by Nalin Kumar Pandya aka Paan Nalin – again lost to a strong field, which included the German World War I drama “All Quiet on the Western Front” and others . Golden Globe winner, “Argentina, 1985” (Argentine historical drama surrounding the fight waged by a group of lawyers against the South American nation’s last military junta).
The official selection is done by a committee appointed by the Film Federation of India, the apex body of filmmakers, cutting across all language and regional cinema industries. Is the committee selecting the right films? Furthermore, is it supporting the chosen film with the kind of marketing budget that the Oscars demand?
“RRR”, which was the favorite of the award season until it was snubbed by BAFTA and had to be content with only one Oscar nomination for “Naatu Naatu”, was backed by theatrical distribution and marketing company, Variance Films, its Efforts and A War Chest reportedly worth Rs 80 crore.
Now, “RRR” can at least claim that “Naatu Naatu” is the first Indian song from an Indian film to be nominated for an Oscar (“Jai Ho” was an Indian song, yes, but “Slumdog Millionaire” was a no. was an Indian film).
Interestingly, “Eau,” a Belgian film (and Cannes favorite) about a donkey road trip backed by Varians, has received a Best International Feature Film nomination.
Sir Richard Attenborough’s “Gandhi” (which won Bhanu Athaiya an Oscar for Best Costume) and Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” (A. for Best Original Music Score and Best Lyrics for “Jai Ho”).
Incidentally, Rahman was nominated for a Best Original Music Score Oscar in 2010 for another acclaimed Danny Boyle film “127 Hours”, but he lost the trophy to the composers of “The Social Network”.
However, this year there is good news coming for Indian documentary filmmakers.
Shaunak Sen’s “All That Breathes”, which won the Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary at Cannes 2022, has been nominated for Best Documentary Feature, an honor that went to Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s “Writing with Fire” last year. met.
Kartiki Gonsalves’ short film “The Elephant Whispers” is a visually gripping and emotionally moving story of Bomman, Bailey and their baby Raghu (an elephant calf) who live at the heart of Theppakadu Elephant Camp in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu. Huh. , has received a nomination in its category.
These two nominations will do well for documentaries made in India with unusual stories from the lives of ordinary people. They’ll inspire more people to put money into the right talent, with ideas that could bring home an Oscar.