The Hindu : Indian entry for Oscar nomination after 14 years

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 24, 2002

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Indian entry for Oscar nomination after 14 years

By Gautaman Bhaskaran

CHENNAI, FEB.23. India finds an important slot in the Oscar nominations after 14 years. Ashutosh Gowariker's "Lagaan'' _ one of the five films nominated in the "Best Foreign Picture" category this year _ is only the second after Mira Nair's "Salaam Bombay'' got the nod in 1988. In fact, "Lagaan'' is the third Indian movie to win such a recognition. The first was Mehboob Khan's "Mother India'' in 1957.

The reason for these yawning gaps is not far to seek. Of the 600 to 900 celluloid works that India has been churning out year after year, very few can lay claim to cinematic quality or originality. Many are poor copies of Hollywood blockbusters, and why would the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in charge of the Oscars, want to even consider such plagiarised versions?

What is more, those responsible for selecting an Indian entry for a possible nomination have seldom been inclined or been sensitive enough to place merit before other considerations.

The result: some of the most atrociously made films have been sent up _ decisions that attracted scorn and ridicule from the Academy. The country's image suffered a blow, which seemed irreparable, till "Lagaan'' managed to break the negative impression.

Mr. Gowariker's work, extremely long at 223 minutes, is admittedly not the best India produced last year, but it is certainly one of the better ones to have sought a nomination in recent times, a welcome departure from the past follies.

Also, however good a movie may be, it needs intense and sustained promotion if it were to catch the eye of the 5,700 voting members of the Academy. Obviously, both Mr. Gowariker and Aamir Khan, producer and lead actor respectively of "Lagaan'' appear to have managed this successfully.

Some events also helped them. The September 11 attacks in the U.S. and the war in Afghanistan made it imperative that film festivals and Oscars reflect social issues and causes. Selectors have been trying to find a balance between a cinema that is meaningful without being melodramatic or grim.

Ms. Nair's "The Monsoon Wedding'' can be one example. The picture, which walked away with the top prize at Venice last autumn, has the right dose of humour and heartache. It is full of colour, music and laughter, but it is also a poignant family story.

While Ms. Nair's movie is an interesting mix of comedy and pathos, the events of September 11 have certainly made Americans aware of the world outside their borders.

``Lagaan'' suits this mood. If the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton, a war on taxation was clinched on the cricket pitch of Champaner. Mr. Gowariker's Hindi work traces a tale of humble villagers, somewhere in the last century, forced to bat it out with a comparatively professional English team of cricketers. A defeat on the "maidan" would mean having to pay a killing tax to the British masters; a win would give a reprieve to the starving natives.

The movie is deeply disturbing at one level, but entertaining at another, a cocktail of feel bad and feel good which probably helped "Lagaan'' to find a berth on what is undoubtedly a prestigious forum.

``Lagaan'' has tough competition ahead. Danis Tanovic's "No Man's Land'' from Bosnia is a simple, stark and gripping look at the war through the eyes of Bosnian and Serbian soldiers stranded in a trench between enemy lines. This will probably be the most difficult challenger for "Lagaan''.

But a nomination by itself is a remarkable victory, and if one were to see the kind of works that did not make it to this short list (Austria's "The Piano Teacher'' by Michael Haneke, Iran's "Baran'' by Majid Majidi, and Italy's "The Son's Room'' by Nanni Moretti _ all big names), both Mr. Gowariker and Aamir Khan should feel immensely happy at being given a pat.

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