Revision as of 17:27, 24 January 2023

Indian entries

1957-2016

Indian entries for the Oscars: 1957-2016
The Times of India

The Film Federation of India, the apex body of the movie industry, is the authority that decides the country's entry in the best foreign language film category at the Oscar awards.It has decided to submit Tamil film Visaaranai in 2016.Mehboob Khan's `Mother India' was India's first submission for this award. So far, only three Indian films have reached the final nomination stage as best foreign film

See graphic." Indian entries for the Oscars: 1957-2016"

2020

November 26, 2020: The Times of India

‘Jallikattu’ to be India’s official Oscar entry

Kochi/Kolkata:

Malayalam film “Jallikattu”, based on celebrated writer S Hareesh’s short story, Maoist, has been selected as India’s official entry for Oscars 2021. The announcement was made by chairman of the jury Rahul Rawail in Kolkata. The film will compete in the best international feature film category.

In all, 27 films were in contention. Among those to lose out were Chaitanya Tamhane’s much-feted Marathi film, “The Disciple”, “Bittersweet” (Marathi), “Chhalaang ” (Hindi) and “Gulabo Sitabo” (Hindi). “I wish to thank everyone who worked for the film,” said the film’s 42-year-old director Lijo Jose Pellissery, winner of the best director award at the International Film Festival of India last year. The film’s plot revolves around a buffalo that escapes from a slaughterhouse in a remote hill village where men gather to hunt down the animal. The film satirises the chaos and the chase becomes a metaphor for human aggression. TNN

Indians invited by the Academy

2018

SRK, Naseeruddin among Oscar Academy’s 928 new members , June 26, 2018: The Indian Express

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, Tabu and veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah are among a record 928 new members invited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as the body behind the Oscars seeks to enhance diversity. In an annoucement, the Academy said the new members will increase the diversity in a major way as 49% of its invitees are female and 38% are people of colour. India features prominently in the list of the new invitees that includes female stars Tabu and Madhuri Dixit, Tabu’s ‘Viraasat’ co-star Anil Kapoor and actor Ali Fazal. Veteran Bengali actors Soumitra Chatterjee (‘Bridge’) and Madhabi Mukherjee (‘Charulata’) are in the list of invitees as well.

2019

July 3, 2019: The Times of India

The Academy invites six Indians to be members

In its latest push for inclusivity, the Oscars Academy has invited members from 59 countries

Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap and Anupam Kher are among the 842 new members invited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in its latest push to become more inclusive.

Kher has starred in Hollywood films such as Hotel Mumbai and The Big Sick while Akhtar, who has been invited in the Directors’ branch, most recently directed Gully Boy. Kashyap has been invited in the Short Films and Feature Animation branch. Lunchbox writer-director Ritesh Batra is also a part of the new invitees’ list. In the Visual Effects branch, Sherry Bharda of Hichki fame and Srinivas Mohan, best known for his work on 2.0 and Baahubali: The Beginning, have been invited.

AND THE NEW INVITEES ARE

Zoya Akhtar - Directors branch

Anurag Kashyap - Short Films and Feature Animation branch

Anupam Kher - Actors branch

Ritesh Batra - Writers branch

Srinivas Mohan, Sherry Bharda - Visual Effects branch

The Oscars and Indian cinema

Bollywood and Oscars over 100 years of Cinema

Tejashree Bhopatkar, The Times of India, Apr 25, 2013

The Times of India

On completion of 100 years of Indian Cinema, it's definitely an unfortunate moment that despite of honest attempts Indian movies could not win any Oscar Awards.

Since 1957, India has sent 45 films as its official entry for the Oscars. Out of these, only 3 films - Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay (1988) and Lagaan (2001) were nominated for the Oscars in the "Best Foreign Language Film".

Not many know that An Encounter with Faces was filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra's first directorial attempt and interestingly won a nomination at the Oscars. It was a short documentary film by Chopra and nominated in the 'Best Documentary on Short Subjects' category where in Ashwin Kumar, son of fashion designer Ritu Kumar, made his entry to the Oscar nomination list with his short film ' Little Terrorist'. This 15-minute short was about a boy who crosses the line of control between India and Pakistan.

Indian Oscar winners

On the other hand, if not Bollywood movies as a whole, we have Indians as Oscar winners. India received its first Oscars in 1982, when Bhanu Athaiya won the award as the Best Costume Designer for Richard Attenborough's film Gandhi in 1982.

Exactly after a decade Satyajit Ray received honorary Academy Awards at Oscars.

2008 was the best year for Indian Cinema as Bollywood cash in 3 Oscar awards. Russell Pookutty won Best Sound Mixing (with Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke) for Slumdog Millionaire, followed by A.R Rahman won Best Score and Best Original Song (music) again for Slumdog Millionaire, Gulzar won Best Song (lyrics) for Slumdog Millionaire.

Films with Indian connections

Gandhi (1982), an epic biographical film which dramatises the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. It took an Englishman, Richard Attenborough to make the best biographical film on India's most prominent freedom fighters Mahatma Gandhi. Ben Kingsley portrayed Gandhi to perfection. Gandhi went on to win 8 Oscar Awards.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008), an India- based movie with a Hollywood producer, Danny Boyle. Slumdog Millionaire shot entirely in India and with an almost Indian cast won as many as 8 Oscars in different categories.

Life Of Pi (2012), again a film produced by foreign producers yet have Indian actors like Irfan Khan, Tabu, Suraj Sharma and is also filmed in India.

Water, starring John Abraham, Lisa Ray, Seema Biswas which was again produced by David Hamilton. Deepa Mehta's Water was another film with an absolute Indian setting, Indian cast and Indian language but won an Oscar nomination for the Best Foreign Language Film from Canada, since the producer was from that country.

Fund for promotion at Oscars, international fests

Fund for promotion at Oscars, international fests
The Times of India

New fund to promote Indian cinema at Oscars, int'l fests, Nov 02 2016 : The Times of India

The government has created a film promotion fund to promote Indian cinema in international film festivals. The initiative would help independent filmmakers to promote their work across the globe.

Announcing the move, Union information and broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said the fund would provide financial assistance to create a buzz around films selected an international film festival of repute or if it is India's official nomination to the Academy Awards under the foreign film category .

Directorate of film festivals has been designated as the nodal agency for implementing this initiative based on the recommendations of a panel of experts constituted by the government.

The Oscars and Pakistani cinema

50 years later, Pakistan to submit Oscar entry

TNN | Aug 3, 2013

The Times of India

Pakistan’s official entries under the foreign language film category

Between 1947 and 2013 Pakistan sent two entries to the Oscars:

1959 (Akhtar Kardar's Jago Hua Savera)

1963 (Khwaja Khurshid Anwar's Ghunghat).

2013: The committee constituted to select Pakistan's official entry

From Pakistan, renowned film makers and writers will join hands to form a part of the core selection committee.

Heading the committee are prominent people including writer Mohsin Hamid (The Reluctant Fundamentalist), director Mehreen Jabbar (Ramchand Pakistani), actor Rahat Kazmi, filmmaker Akifa Mian, Samina Peerzada and arts academic Framji Minwalla.

Further reports by the media quote debutant British-Pakistani director Hammad Khan, whose film Slackistan was banned in Pakistan. He said that Pakistan has been so pre occupied with wars, coups and religion that cinema really has no place in the country nor has it taken the art form seriously.

“In Memorium”

2021

Priyanka Dasgupta , April 28, 2021: The Times of India

Satyajit Ray’s Apu had his moment under the Oscar spotlight on Sunday when the 93rd Academy Awards featured the late Soumitra Chatterjee, whose portrayal of the character ranks among the best in Indian cinema, in its official “In Memoriam” tribute. Oscar nominee Angela Bassett introduced the segment, mentioning how “over 3 million souls were lost around the world to Covid alone”.

Chatterjee died on November 15, 2020 after a 40-day battle with the virus. While a 3-minutelong video featured actor Irrfan Khan and costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, the first Indian to win an Oscar, the official “In Memorium” page featured a still from Apur Sansar showing a contemplative Chatterjee. Others who found mention in the tribute included Sushant Singh Rajput, Rishi Kapoor and Shashikala.

Chatterjee’s daughter Poulami Bose called the Oscar tribute a “heartwarming” gesture. “My father was never too excited about awards. Growing up in pre-independence India, his value system was different. He was more work-oriented than recognition-oriented. Even when he was bestowed with international awards, he would see it as a recognition of his countrymen. Had Bapi somehow seen this ‘In Memoriam’ segment, he would have said it is a recognition for India rather than just his work,” she said.

Since Chatterjee’s death, the family has been plagued by a series of life events. In January, Bose tested positive for Covid and took some time to recover. On April 4, she lost her mother to kidney-related issues. Now, her daughter, Mekhola, has been infected.

A lot of work by the Soumitra Chatterjee Foundation has been put on hold due to the second wave of Covid-19. Currently, Bose is using this time to sort Chatterjee’s collection of English and Bengali books. “Director Suman Ghosh and actor Kheyali Dastidar have taken some. I’ve gifted some to actors from my theatre group. I don’t have enough space and want the books to find a good home. So, I’ll give them to those who will read, appreciate and treasure them because they belonged to Bapi,” she said.

There are some 200-odd books that are awaiting distribution. Bose kept some aside for Suman Mukhopadhyay, Kaushik Sen and Debshankar Halder – actors whom Chatterjee was extremely fond of. Incidentally, on Mrinal Sen’s death anniversary, many of the legend’s books and trophies were also gifted away to people who wanted them. “I also have such plans. I will keep the very important ones and give away the rest to others,” she added.