If you have watched Lion, it is impossible that you weren’t impressed with actress Tannishtha Chatterjee’s character in the Oscar-nominated film. The actress, who is lauded for the ease and perfection with which she carried each of her onscreen roles in popular films such as Rough Book, Angry Indian Goddesses and Parched, may have had a short role in Lion, but it was crucial in putting forth the ugly truth of child abuse in India. Tannishtha’s latest film has received six Oscar nominations, and continues to be appreciated world over for its deeply moving story. For the uninitiated, the film revolves around an Indian boy who uses Google Earth Map to find her biological mother. With everyone expecting the film to win big at the Oscars, we spoke to Tannishtha about her expectations before the much-anticipated awards ceremony, the impact of Lion and just why none of Indian films make it big at Oscars.
On Lion Winning Best Film
It is a good film, but we are in competition with several good films so I don’t know what to expect. Lion is my film and I expect it to do well. I’m not the kind of person who is really banking on that (it has to win). If it happens it will be good.
On Indian Film Never Making it Big at Oscars
That’s because we are selected in Foreign Language section, and not in any of the main categories. And the films that are selected for Oscars go through a government process. We suffer because of the kind of films we send. For instance: Satyajit Ray could have won Academy Awards, but they never sent to Oscars. So they gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award. Secondly, I think we look for validation of the West. We have to understand that Oscars isn’t be all and end all. There are other awards in the world as well - such as Berlin, Cannes. All these award functions are prestigious. And Indian films do well here because anybody can can send it to them But that’s not the process for Oscars. It is the country that send it. Our films win in festivals at Venice, Cannes, Berlin, Busan. These are important platforms especially for good cinema.
On the Indelible Impact of Lion
Everyone I’ve spoken to, have said that they cried after watching Lion. It is a moving film. After the special screening of the film, someody told me that her heart broke on seeing the young Saroo asking for help, but nobody did it- which speaks a lot about us. We have no value for life. The film put forth several issues that we need to think about as a developing country. We need to think about how we treat human beings. The film speaks a lot about adoption as well. The couple shown in the film chooses to adopt not because they couldn’t have a child, but because they wanted to give home to kids. That’s one important theme that a lot of people are connecting to. We have so many kids who are orphan, and need a home. What’s the big deal of having one’s own? That’s the thought that people in India should understand. The biggest problem here is that too we have too many people and are always fighting for resources.
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