BOMBAY TIMES (May 29, 2019)

Last year in June, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body that gives out the Oscars every year, invited 20 Indian film personalities, including Shah Rukh Khan, Naseeruddin Shah and Tabu, to be its members. Almost a year later, the Academy chief, cinematographer John Bailey, has shown interest in setting up a regional office in Mumbai.

Bailey’s response came after Maharashtra’s cultural minister Vinod Tawde tweeted on May 25 about the Maharashtra govt’s willingness to start a regional office of the Academy at Mumbai. In his tweet welcoming Bailey to Mumbai, Tawde wrote, “India’s entertainment capital has opened its doors and GoM has proposed to establish Oscars office in Mumbai, representing Asian Film Industry!”

Speaking at a press interaction about the same, Bailey said, “We have an office in London, and there is one in New York. Those are the only two standing offices. India is the largest filmmaking country in the world. The country makes up to 1,800 movies a year, which is four times the number we make in the US. There is logic to it; it’s an excellent idea.” He further added, “An office in Mumbai would mean a platform for artistes to conduct exhibitions, programmes, screen movies, and building up a community that appreciates the art of cinema. But it is not something that will come to life in the blink of an eye. It is a long process that will take its own time.”

The Maharashtra govt has proposed to increase Indian representation at the Oscars jury and have a bust of Dadasaheb Phalke, considered the father of Indian cinema, at the Academy’s upcoming museum.