Jahnu Barua to send film directly for Oscars

New Delhi, Sep 25 (IANS) Internationally acclaimed filmmaker Jahnu Barua is visibly upset over the process adopted for nominating Indian films for the Oscars and says he has decided to send his movie "Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara" directly to the Academy.

"I had a talk with Anupam Kher (the producer) and he asked me to send it directly to the Academy of Motion Pictures and Arts for the best foreign film category. My film was screened in the US. Therefore it is eligible for a direct entry," Barua told IANS on phone.

India will announce its entry on Tuesday.

"Filmmakers are not disillusioned with the Oscar. They respect it very much. But they are not happy with the selection process used by Film Federation of India (FFI)," he said.

"It (the selection process) is very polluted and the FFI is not handling it properly. They do not publicise it properly and mostly use personal contacts," said Barua.

"Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara", starring Anupam Kher and Urmila Matondkar, tells the poignant story of a retired professor suffering from bouts of forgetfulness.

This year only nine filmmakers have submitted their films to the FFI - Rakesh Roshan's "Krrish", Karan Johar's "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna", Naseeruddin Shah's "Yun Hota To Kya Hota", Raju Hirani's "Lage Raho Munnabhai", Rakyesh Mehra's "Rang De Basanti", Vishal Bharadwaj's "Omkara", Madhur Bhandarkar's "Corporate", Marathi film "Bhook" and a Telugu film "Amma Chepindi".

Toronto-based Indian filmmaker Deepa Mehta's film "Water", which deals about the plight of widows in India in early 90s, has been chosen as Canada's official entry to the Oscar in the foreign film category.

Amit Khanna, chairman Reliance Entertainment Limited, is, however, not happy with media touting some names as top contenders.

There have been media reports saying the competition is tough among "Omkara" for its adaptation, "Rang De Basanti" for its social message and "Lage Raho Munna Bhai" for Gandhian values, for the top honour.

"The media has got it wrong. In the last 50 years, only 20 Hindi films were sent as India's official entry for the Oscars. English films are not eligible because they don't fall in the foreign language category.

But, there are many who are convinced that "Omkara" should be the official entry for the film.

"My vote would go to 'Omkara' because it turns a universally known Shakespearean tragedy into a typical Indian story in a style that is impressively cinematic. That's a combination that might go down well with the Academy voters," said well-known film critic Saibal Chatterjee.

On "Lage Raho Munnabhai" and "Rang De Basanti", he said: "They are also great contenders because both reflect India's contemporary reality effectively even while employing the popular song and dance format. Both are strikingly original in conception and execution.

A 12-member panel including Basu Chatterjee, Kalpana Lajmi, N. Chandra, Aadesh Srivastava and Ved Rahi has been set up to view the films and chose the best.

Only three Indian films - "Mother India" (1957), "Salaam Bombay" (1988) and "Lagaan" (2001) have made it to the short list so far.

"There are very good regional filmmakers. Satyajit Ray's films could have gone for the Oscars but were never selected. FFI favours commercial cinema only and regional filmmakers are completely disillusioned with its selection procedure," Barua said.

On the chances of his film, the filmmaker, who hails from Assam, said: "I don't know about the award but it will definitely make a mark on the jury members."

The last date for submission of the films for Oscar entries is Oct 3.

Click the Movie button below for more info:
Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Mara