MID-DAY (December 23, 2016)

Two Bollywood biopics have made it to the long list of 336 feature films contending for Best Picture Oscar — Sushant Singh Rajput-starrer M S Dhoni - The Untold Story and Sarbjit, which featured Randeep Hooda as prisoner Sarabjit Singh. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released the list on Wednesday.

To make it to the list, a feature film of more than 40-minutes must have run at a commercial theatre in LA for at least seven consecutive days.

Sarbjit producer Sandeep Singh said, “The Academy was trying to contact us for the last few days, but I thought someone was playing a nasty prank. When it became official, I couldn’t believe it. Now, I have realised there are people who value good cinema; they have acknowledged the hard work put in by lead actors — Randeep, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, director Omung Kumar and writers (Utkarshini Vashishtha and Rajesh Beri).”

Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair’s Queen of Katwe starring Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o is also part of the list along with faves La La Land, Moonlight, Manchester By The Sea, Silence, Arrival and Hacksaw Ridge. Superhero movies Deadpool, Suicide Squad, Captain America: Civil War and X- Men: Apocalypse also made the cut.