The Oscars Debacle: Is Eklavya A Worthy Entry?

Once again it's Oscars time and yet again India's official entry for the prestigious award has managed to create hullabaloo within the Bollywood community as well as among many Hindi film fans. Filmmaker/Chairperson of the selection committee, Vinod Pande and his entourage have nominated Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Eklavya as India's entry for the Best Foreign Film category.

Besides Eklavya, other films that managed a spot in the final list of the selection committee included Yash Raj Production's blockbuster hit Chak De India, Mani Ratnam's Guru, Anil Kapoor's Gandhi My Father and debutante director Bhavna Talwar's Dharm.

Although Eklavya turned out to be a box-office failure, I did like the film. I found it to be esthetically flawless, Amitabh Bachchan was simply brilliant, a little slow paced but had that certain "arty" feel to it and above all film's duration is well within 2 hours. However personally speaking, my first choice for the Oscars without a doubt would be Pankaj Kapur starrer, Dharm.

Dharm very delicately displays the religious rift between Hindus and Muslims, never exaggerating any sentiment nor underplaying any emotion. Considering its director Bhavna Talwar's very first film, she has done an incredible job in her execution while paying attention to every minute detail. Acting wise, I can't think of a single actor whose acting was not at par with the script but yes, Pankaj Kapur's portrayal of Pandit Chaturvedi is definitely the film's biggest highlight.

Then again Bollywood isn't all about good films; it also has a lot to do with big names, financial backings, huge budgets and most important of all, friends at influential positions. So when you look at these factors, Eklavya's selection doesn't come as a surprise. Frankly, I am just glad that they didn't choose a film on the lines of Shah Rukh Khan's headache initiating Paheli.

Apparently the main reason behind Dharm's non-selection for the Oscars was the jury member's apprehensions over Bhavna Talwar's ability to promote her film with a bang at an international platform and lack of financial resources.

Vinod Pande admits, "Several other factors seeped in during the discussion and deliberation. But I sincerely feel that Dharm would have got the Oscar for us. Unfortunately, I had to take a collective decision instead of an individual one." [Mumbai Mirror]

I find such situations really disheartening – I mean here we have the head of the selection committee openly confessing that another film should have actually gone ahead but couldn't, not because it lacked the "cinematic art" but monetary funds. Considering the amount of money that is generated every week by the Hindi Film Industry, surely Film Federation of India (FFI) could have asked for the much needed contributions from top-notch production houses, actors and others involved in the business. Also, since this is the Oscars we are talking about, many non-filmy companies would also be glad to help financially, just for some media-association.

On the other hand, Pahlaj Nihalani, the President of Association of Motion Pictures and TV Programmes that selects the entry, is ticked off with the decision, calling it "disgraceful", "shameful" and "blatant misuse of power". He reasons that a film rejected by Indian masses cannot have the privilege of official entry for Oscar awards. Though I can understand Mr. Nihalani's disappointment however I don't agree with his logic. I mean, come on, the Indian masses haven't been all that great with their selection of blockbuster hits either – if we go by Mr. Nihalani's reasoning then crappy films like Ramgardh Ke Sholay, Shootout At Lokhandwala, Dhoom, etc also deserve a place in the nomination list.

A film's nomination should be solely based on its "unique creativity", be it for Oscars or any other awards for that matter. But I guess working towards a "united goal" is not on the priority list of the Indian Film Industry, political games is its manner and as for "good cinema", what's that?