Yes, it’s that time of the year again. Unlike last year when there was a heated debate as to which film to send to the Academy Awards, this year there was no such anticipation. A year ago we saw Rang De Basanti, Lage Raho Munnabhai and Omkara battle it out until RDB was officially selected.
For the 2008 Oscars in February, India has decided to send Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Eklavya as our official entry for Best Foreign Film. Pahlaj Nihlani of the Association of Motion Pictures and TV Programmes in charge of the selection confirms, “”Yes, it is true that Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Eklavya has been selected as India’s official entry to the Oscars.” But he himself has some complaints about the selection. He argues, “”It is disgraceful that the jury has selected a movie for the Oscars, which has been rejected by the people. I don’t see any logic behind selecting this movie when there were other deserving movies like Chak De India.” In the same breath he adds, “”If this is the taste of the jury, then it is better they leave the industry. Eklavya does not deserves an Oscar entry. This is a clear case of partiality. The selection has been done under the influence of certain people, which is shameful. The way Indian films are becoming globally recognised, wrong decisions like this will only spoil our hard-earned goodwill. This is blatant misuse of power.”
Eklavya has been selected amidst more popular films like Guru and Chak De India. Well, let’s hope for the best! Either way, who needs an Oscar when we’ve got Filmfare? (Hah!)
