Bollywood’s Oscar Contenders
Bollywood adalah salah satu pusat perfilman terbesar di dunia, namun entah mengapa mereka nyaris tidak pernah memenangkan Oscar (duh). Berikut ini adalah kutipan dari artikel yang dimuat di situs www.planetbollywood.com, mengenai calon2 kuat Bollywood untuk Oscar tahun depan:
The Oscar Controversy
By:
What’s The Big Deal?
On Monday, September 26, 2005 a decision
was made by the Film Federation of India jury that causes a controversy
. . . what’s all the fuss about? Yes, it is official that India’s entry
for consideration for an OSCAR will be Amol Palekar’s Paheli (released in June 2005).
The Privilege
In India’s history, there have been 3 films that have had the privilege of going to the Oscars: Mehmood Khan’s Mother India, Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay, and Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Lagaan.
Unfortunately, India hasn’t won in the Foreign film category, the
biggest acclaim probably came in 1982 when Richard Attenborough’s
Gandhi won in some of the popular categories. I know that one day,
India will win the Oscar in this category, but it won’t be for Paheli.
Aren’t all awards the same?
Does
it really matter? Nobody is ever happy with any selection ever made for
any awards show. Whether it is FILMFARE, SCREEN, ZEE CINE, STARDUST,
etc. there is always somebody who will not be content. What’s the big
deal about the Oscars? Its really an awards show to recognize
excellence in filmmaking in the United
States aka Hollywood. The FOREIGN FILM category gets about 60 seconds
of exposure and then they move on to the rest of the evening. Mind you,
how many people even watch the Oscars in India? Perhaps the last time,
2001, when Lagaan was part of the category, millions and millions of people were excited, but yet again, we lost.
Let’s
look at some past controversies. For instance in 2004, so many
categories and ridiculous winners and more controversies and rumours
like: “The Chopras bought the awards” or “Shah Rukh Khan always wins”.
Well, are these statements true? In my opinion, NO, because sometimes
even the best of them don’t win. Yash Chopra made a fine Veer Zaaraonly to have Kunal Kohli win BEST DIRECTOR at the Filmfare Awards. AR Rahman produced the best soundtrack with Swades and Meenaxi (not even nominated), but Anu Malik walked away with the trophy for Main Hoon Na. Not only that, more recently we had the most preposterous announcement that Saif Ali Khan won a NATIONAL AWARD for Hum Tum. So let me ask this . . .doesn’t every award have its share of winners and nominees that don’t deserve the limelight?
What about 2003? As much as Hritik Roshan was good in Koi Mil Gaya, both actor and film swept most of the awards leaving Kal Ho Na Ho and Shah Rukh Khan biting the dust. There was a big deal made then as well.
Even in 2002, when Devdas was selected as India’s entry for the Oscars, there were people who wanted RGV’s Company to be chosen.
Whether
you love him or hate him, Shah Rukh Khan is sellable as an actor and he
is recognized in North America more and more. Not only that, even
though Paheli
opened to mixed reviews, it was a success in the overseas market
playing for weeks. This could possibly be one of the reasons it was
selected. This Khan is always part of media stories, so this
controversy is only the beginning.
Don’t get me wrong readers, I am not defending Paheli as the perfect choice or supporting it, but what’s done is done.
What’s should’ve been chosen?
Hmm . . . the issue is deep. So many people have claimed that Black
should’ve been selected. I believe that there were other selections
that would’ve made fine representations for India. Yes, despite the
fact Black
was mostly in english, it was an Indian film. I believe it deserved
recognition at the international level. However, I also find that Veer Zaara would’ve made a fine contender because with relations being better between Pakistan and India, the film showed a great love story. Parineeta
would’ve been a good selection as it showed human relationships, secret
relationships, and open relationships in a new light. Even Swades
would’ve been a decent selection as it shows one man’s journey to
return to his roots. The list can go on . . . everybody has their
favourites.
The official list of films that were considered this year were:
Veer Zaara, Swades, Page 3, Black, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Iqbal, Sachein (Tamil), Anniyan (Telugu), Mangal Pandey, Achuvante Anna (Malayalam), Graham (Telugu), Uttarayan (Marathi), and Kadal (Tamil).
Paheli
being chosen has made some people happy, and others shocked. So what’s
the big deal now? Whether the film was selected by lobbying by the
Rajasthan Tourism, or Palekar and Khan’s influence, what’s done is done!
Do you really care?
This
story will stay in the news for a few weeks, die down, then when
nominations are made, it’ll be in the limelight again. Does Paheli
have a chance of getting nominated? No. Why? Because it is a fantasy
film made to enjoy like you are in a slow dream and just enjoying the
cinematography, the costumes, the music, the performances . . . it
doesn’t reflect Indian culture, it just shows the plight that a human
being can go through, whether its natural or supernatural.
I personally liked Paheli,
however, I would not select this film to represent India at the Oscars.
Amol Palekar is a fine actor and proved to be a good director,
but his film will unfortunately be mocked for months to come. The real
test has begun for them now. . . yet they don’t care because they’ve
won round 1. We’ll have to wait for the official Oscar nominations in
2006.
The remakes
Miracle worker . . . Duvidha . . . you get the picture? The main news item is Black was robbed and Paheli has won. Everyone talks about how Black is a remake . . . well . . . even Sanjay Leela Bhansali has claimed that Black
has shades of Helen Keller’s story. But have people forgotten that
Paheli is also a remake of a 70s film called Duvidha? This controversy
has put everyone in a dilemma!
I don’t want people to begin hating Black because its now getting the recognition it deserved. Dropping the issue is probably best. I would rather Black gets INDIAN recognition at the regular awards than at the Oscars. Yes, because the Oscars are overrated!
Paheli . . . The Riddle
The
riddle is this: How can one movie cause so much controversy? Well, the
answer is simple . . . Bollywood has actually gotten bad recognition
throughout the years for churning out hundreds of films with over 90%
having no substance. However, since Diwali 2004, I can honestly say,
that filmmakers have began working on making some quality products,
entertaining and wholesome films. There were MUCH better films than Paheli
that had the aesthetics that would’ve made India proud at the Oscars.
The Hollywood Foreign Press, who ultimately has the final decision to
nominate, will not like the frills and colours of Paheli
because in the end, it’s a fairytale, a fantasy film. Hollywood wants
films that show humans fighting or overcoming all odds (like Lagaan did). Unfortunately, it is clear that Paheli
will not get us an Oscar nomination, but the final decision is done. We
hold no power to appeal this ruling. So the final question is: what’s
the big deal?
