BT talks to former jury members and winners, on what they think about this decision made by the Directorate of film festivals
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; April 27, 2019)

The Directorate of Film Festivals has stated that the winners of the 66th National Film Awards will be announced only after the general elections wrap up. Usually, the announcement is made in April, with the awards ceremony held in May. However, this year, with the 17th Lok Sabha polls underway, there has been a change in plans.

The statement reads, “Since the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in force, and it facilitates a level playing field to all political parties and the candidates and inter alia seeks to ensure that the power of media is not used in such a manner which affects the general conduct and level playing field during the election process, it has been decided to declare the awards after the election process is over and the MCC concludes.”

The National Film Awards honours the best in Indian cinema at a prestigious event that is held in the capital every year. Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, who headed the National Awards jury last year, told BT, “I think it’s a wise decision. These days, anything and everything is seen through the prism of elections and the political leanings of an individual, though some things may have no connection with politics. If you look at social media, you will know what I am saying. Any comment is seen as pro or anti someone or some party. Cinema and something like National Awards must not be dragged into all of this. It makes sense to announce the winners after the elections.”

Filmmaker C V Reddy, who was part of the jury a few years ago and has headed the committee that selects India’s entry for the Oscar Awards, too, agrees. “Yes, there is a date for the function which is adhered to every year. The announcements are usually made by this time, but with the elections underway, I think this decision is better. They are following the rules of the Election Commission,” he said. However, for filmmaker Rajesh Mapuskar, one of the jurors last year, it is “disappointing” that the wait has gotten longer. “Everyone associated with Indian cinema awaits these awards. Changing their dates and increasing the waiting period is a little disappointing. I wish they had stuck to their original dates,” he expressed.

Actor Manoj Bajpayee, who has won National Awards in the past, added, “There must be some valid reasons for the directorate to make such a decision. It’s an independent body that decides on the awards, but maybe this is a hectic time for all the officials across government offices. I think this must be a move to keep things smooth and focussed. There is really nothing for anyone to read into this.” 

While Rajkummar Rao’s satire, Newton, becomes India’s 47th Oscar entry that didn’t make it to the top five, the film fraternity continues to remain hopeful about a win, someday
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; December 16, 2017)

Newton, unanimously selected by the Film Federation of India (FFI) jury to represent the country at the 90th edition of the Academy Awards to be held in Los Angeles on March 4, 2018, is out of the race in the Best Foreign Language film category.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that the satire hasn’t progressed to the top nine film line-up despite winning accolades back home. A Fantastic Woman (Chile), In The Fade (Germany), On Body And Soul (Hungary), Foxtrot (Israel), The Insult (Lebanon), Loveless (Russia), Felicite (Senegal), The Wound (South Africa) and The Square (Sweden) have made the cut and will proceed to the next round of voting.

Since 1957 (when India sent its first entry), only three Indian entries have made it to the top five nominations at the coveted Oscar Awards — Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay (1988) and Lagaan (2001). Newton is the 47th entry that hasn’t made it to top slot.

Amit V Masurkar, who directed the Rajkummar Rao-starrer, says, “The competition is very tough, it’s the equivalent of Olympics for cinema. Most of the films in the competition have done fabulously well in the international domain. Even Newton received positive reactions at every screening. So, it doesn’t feel bad that we couldn’t make it. I’m glad we were chosen to represent India on such a massive platform.”

Filmmaker C V Reddy, who headlined the committee that selected Newton, says, “We’re still very proud of the choice we made. The rest is a film’s own destiny.” Supran Sen of the FFI, adds, “We thought that this was the best film on the table. Promoting it in the US is a producer’s prerogative and responsibility. We can’t help it if our entry is not chosen in the top five.”

Filmmaker Ketan Mehta, who has previously been on the FFI panel that selects India’s entry to the Oscars, believes that Indian cinema is yet to start communicating with the world. “There’s exciting cinema all over the world — American and European films talk beyond the borders. Their majority market is outside their borders, which is not the case for India. We are still hugely dependent on our domestic market, which is less than two per cent of the world market. Fortunately, even in that space, our market is robust for so many films to be made, but we are still shying away from being adventurous and global with our content. Also, we need exceptionally deep pockets to market the film in the US before the Oscars,” adds Ketan.

However, Amit V Masurkar disagrees on the importance of lobbying. “It’s not about lobbying at that stage; it’s largely about the content. The competing films are hugely followed by reputed festivals the world over, something that might be making a difference. We were good, but maybe, someone was better.”

Actor-filmmaker Anupam Kher, who has straddled Hollywood and Bollywood films and is currently the head of FTII, Pune, questions India’s obsession with the Oscar. He adds, “Oscars are their awards, and they follow their own process of screening and voting. We haven’t seen the other contenders in the category. How do we know someone wasn’t better than us? We feel heartbroken each year, but don’t make adequate effort to introspect and learn. Newton is a brilliant film, but maybe, we need to up the game. Oscar has been a long chase but maybe, we’ll get there, soon.”

Over the last decade, Visaranai, Court, Liar’s Dice, Barfi!, Adaminte Makan Abu, Peepli Live, Harishchandrachi Factory, Taare Zameen Par, Eklavya: The Royal Guard and Rang De Basanti, were sent as India’s entries to the Oscar. While some of them reportedly couldn’t garner the right response, it was argued that Barfi! was similar in essence to Charlie Chaplin films.

Newton had also faced a similar situation shortly after its selection from India was announced. There were discussions on social media platforms insinuating that the concept of the film was borrowed from the Iranian film, The Secret Ballot. Recently, during a chat with Naseeruddin Shah he spoke about the controversy around the movie and expressed his concern, “For the first time, we unanimously chose one entry for the Oscar, but even then, someone tried to damage its chances by saying that it’s a copy of some Iranian film. Need I say more?” The actor believes that India’s desire to win the Oscar stems from the urge to be seen and heard on a worldwide platform. However, he had argued that Hindi movies have a larger audience globally than Hollywood movies. He had added, “I have seen the so-called big hits in the US run to empty theatres in their very first week. While we outnumber them in terms audience strength, we have a massive fascination for the Oscar. We desperately want to be photographed by the world, holding the trophy. We might get something in costume design or maybe cinematography; chances for those are also bleak. We won an Oscar for Gandhi (Bhanu Athaiya for costume), but the campaign began before the film was shot and it was run by a Hollywood studio. Their studios recognize Oscar material and promote it while it’s being made, we don’t.”

DNA (September 24, 2017)

Newton, which is India’s Oscar entry, is allegedly inspired from the Iranian film Secret Ballot. There are a few similarities between the two films. Both movies deal with the premise of voting day in the remote area of a state and have an honest protagonist who wants to ensure smooth election and is challenged by the conditions and officials.

Global recognition
However, director Amit Masurkar defends his film, which has garnered massive critical acclaim. He says, “The film has travelled to all international film festivals and has been awarded, if it were a copy do you think this would have happened? All these allegations have begun when it landed in India. I don’t even know about the film or the story of Secret Ballot. I have just watched a little bit of it after people starting talking about the similarities in the two films.”

He adds, “In gangster films, there is always someone’s death in family that has led to the story of the gangster and there are honest officers everywhere. As for my film, it is an original story and is rooted in Chattisgarh. I didn’t even know that there was a film like Secret Ballot when we worked on our film.’’

Ready for Oscars
But what does Film Federation of India (FFI), which picks the Oscar entry from the movies made in the country, have to say about the debate on the film being similar to Secret Ballot? Will it reconsider its decision? FFI President C V Reddy says, “How can I tell you anything as I have not watched both the films?’’

Another FFI member feels that many films made by stalwarts were inspired from other films, so this issue isn’t of much contention. The requirement as per FFI rules is that the film has to be released before September 30, 2017. Also, a draft of Rs 50,000 has to be submitted and the film needs to have English subtitles. The FFI member says, “Anyone who meets these criteria can submit their movie. There are no rules about the subject or originality of the film.’’