New Delhi: 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 said.
India’s official entry to the Oscars is director Rakeysh Mehra's Rang de Basanti.
"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)," Barua 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," Barua added.
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 nine filmmakers had 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 Munnabhai 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,” Khanna said.
A 12-member panel including Basu Chatterjee, Kalpana Lajmi, N Chandra, Aadesh Srivastava and Ved Rahi had 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.
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