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So yet again, India’s official entry to the annual Oscars failed to make it to the top five. But in a strange twist of fate, Water, a movie based on the life of Varanasi widows in the 1930s by the Indian filmmaker Deepa Mehta is among the five shortlisted movies. Since this movie was financed and produced by Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Television Fund respectively, it qualifies as the official entry for Canada. The movie was surrounded in controversy when the shooting began in Varanasi. Self-anointed guardians of Hinduism, Bajrang Dal resorted to violent protests against the movie. I guess, they didn’t want everyone to know about the widely known truth of one of Hinduism worst facets in those times. Left with no choice, Deepa Mehta suspended the shooting and resumed it later in Sri Lanka after obtaining financing. Sadly, she lost two of the top actors, Nandita Das and Shabana Azmi and had to resort to badly miscast Lisa Ray and underutilized Seema Biswas. But I guess, it was sufficient to impress the Oscar nominating members. I’m not going to go into examining if the movie was worth the nomination or not. Among the three movies she made, Earth was the only one I liked.
But the selection of Water tells us more about the Western impressions of India rather than the quality of our movies. Clearly, the Oscars are not the standards for movie making and they have honored movies that have clearly not been worth it and ignored others that were subsequently labeled as classics. As I have mentioned on this blog before, India should stop sending ‘official’ entries to the Oscars and instead allow filmmakers to send in their movies if they think they stand a chance.
It is impossible to select a quality product among the thousand-odd movies made in India each year much less select one that would impress the Oscar jury. Hollywood clearly seems biased toward a certain genre of movies and as long as we pander to their impressions of India i.e. compulsory depiction of grinding poverty and grave discrimination (Mother India, Salaam Bombay, Lagaan, and now Water). Of course, movies showing the urban yuppies i.e. Rang De Basanti goes against their sensibilities and they refuse to see India through changed times lenses.
Then why do we even continue to humor them by sending in ‘official’ entries is beyond me. Let us understand that they aren’t going to understand the wide offerings of Indian cinema any time soon. But if you are really hell-bent upon winning the Oscar just for the sake of it, then simply pander to their taste and send in an appropriate movie. But then is it really that important? Otherwise just let us get over this annual ritual of expecting our ‘official’ entry to be nominated and then win only to be disappointed.
On the other hand, I can’t get over the fact that now John Abraham is directly associated with an Oscar nomination which puts him at par with Aamir Khan at least in the eyes of Hollywood. Also, Martin Scorsese will finally win an Oscar for a movie that he least deserves to win for; so will an American Idol wannabe except she might deserve it. Sadly, Children of Men was nominated for Cinematography [apart from editing and adapted screenplay]. And it will undoubtedly win it. Or at least it should. But the nomination of Little Miss Sunshine gladdens my heart.
Technorati Tags: Water, Oscars, nomination, India, Deepa Mehta
by Patrix | on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 at 4:48 pm | 
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January 23rd, 2007 at 6:39 pm reply
I really dont see the point in sending official entries to the foreign film category. Sounds cliche, but really, are we nothing without validation from the west?
I don’t complain about Water getting in though. I am going to watch this years show not for Leonardo, but to spot John instead :D
and technically, john isnt in the same league as aamir, since aamir produced Lagaan, and thus gets more credit
January 23rd, 2007 at 7:50 pm reply
Interesting post Patrix. While I don’t agree that India should stop sending official entries to the Oscars, I agree with all of the rest. This anticipation of validation from the west regarding everything from movies to music to food makes me sick. Trust rediff to cover Deepa Mehta like never before if she wins.
Deepa Mehta: She describes herself as Indian when she is in India and Canadian when she is in Canada. She immigrated in 1973 and is Canadian citizen. I don’t see the point in us trying to claim she is Indian and taking pride in her movies. I hate these NRI’s who purposely go to India and try to show the worst aspects of the country and showcase it in their adopted country for critical acclaim. The people of these countries can watch it over dinner, feel sorry using cliches like “oh thats so bad, this still happens, poor people” and get back to eating. Deepa Mehta doesn’t care bout these practices. Her only purpose is the claps she gets in Canada. These Canadians who don’t have anything else to feel proud of except maybe Ice hockey will be on cloud nine while advocating “an all white immigration policy”. {link}
Also you could not be more right about Scorsese. Departed is a movie I quite loved but it most definitely is not his best work. Nothing compared to Taxi Driver or Raging Bull. But I am pretty sure he will win. There is a general feeling among all that now it is his time and he has been looked over many many times now.
January 23rd, 2007 at 8:02 pm reply
You have something against Children of Men ? I thought it was quite good - especially the cinematography !
I disagree - this would have been true if he won for Aviator, which he did not. Of course, Departed is obviously not his best. And it is still possible he wont win this time (Clint might get it again), earning him the dubious distinction of the ‘losiest’ director !
The Best Picture category is wide open this time. LMS might just sneak in.
Won’t comment on Water and Deepa Mehta ‘coz I can;t without being snarky.
January 23rd, 2007 at 8:31 pm reply
Sqrl, I can’t comment on your John fascination. It is not as much of validation from the west as it is about not understanding what a particular award contest really likes. If we compete, I’m sure we want to win so let us forget about ’showcasing’ our country and sending a movie they would rather give an Oscar to. Then we can rest in peace, I guess.
Oi, I don’t blame Deepa Mehta at all. She got hounded out of India for making a mere movie. If you disagreed with her depiction of Indian society, you can send a strong message by not watching it and not by giving it undue publicity. At least this time, I haven’t seen Rediff co-opting Mehta after the nomination but I think your disgust for NRIs is misplaced. Generalization is the cause.
Anyway, Pan’s Labryinth is going to win so why bother?
Bongo, did I give an impression that I don’t like Children of Men? My bad! Frankly I would have preferred it to even win Best Picture but sadly, it didn’t get wide press coverage. It was one of the best pictures in recent times. A realistic depiction of dystopia.
Yeah! I agree that a win for Aviator may have been more undeserving but I guess, they might just give it to him before he decides not to make any more movies. Especially after Jon Stewart’s comment last year post Three Six Mafia’s win.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:26 pm reply
I did that Partix. I haven’t watched it and will not watch it. Also, I don’t agree with her depiction but the intent behind the depiction. I can’t be a 100% sure, but when a person describes themselves as Indian or Canadian depending on where they are, they lose credibility in my eyes. Disgust - not for NRI’s per se, but NRI’s like Deepa Mehta.
January 24th, 2007 at 2:48 am reply
Scorsese of late, had partly himself to blame for his failures on the Oscar award front. His recent movies have smacked of conscious ‘Oscar-baiting’. Making overtly grandiose movies on eccentric people or period dramas (with unintelligible Irish accents) like Gangs of New York, made him appear to be working too hard for the Oscars.
The Departed on the other hand, was really a departure from the present to his earlier Goodfellas-Raging Bull days. I thought The Departed, in itself as a movie (notwithstanding criticism I hear from the Infernal Affairs fans), was really good and precisely the reason why I want to watch his movies. Plenty of Goodfellas moments, though I would have loved a Joe Pesci-like character inserted somewhere just for those classic mouthfulls. More than all this, Scorsese has played down his movie and it might work to his favor.
I still wouldn’t count Clint Eastwood out of the race though. Scorsese should at least get the award for all his great movies over the years, otherwise he will continue to remain in the club of the likes of Hitchcock, Kubrick etc. (Which isn’t a bad club to be in on second thoughts)
January 24th, 2007 at 4:25 am reply
I think Water is a decent movie - it has somethings going for it and somethings that I disliked.
The fact is that the Oscar committee likes a certain kind of movie. Feel good movies rarely make it. Also, the committee members have previously confided that that they hate the songs and feel Indian movies are too long. Most of these guys are older and have hollywood sensibilities.
So, if you really want to win, cater to their tastes and play the game. Otherwise, don’t care and get on with making commercially successful cinema without being concerned about the Oscars. To me, RDB was just a bad movie - nothing to do with the fact that it was about yuppie Indians. It didn’t deserve to the be in the final 5…
On a separate note, I don’t understand all the angst about people making films about the less savory aspects of life in India. The downside exists, right? So, what the heck is wrong with people making films out of them? When Mira Nair made Monsoon Wedding (which was mostly happy-happy with an issue thrown in), no one was complaining. Does anyone complain when India gets positive press about shining and glowing? No. There are positives and negatives to life in India. I don’t see calling out the negatives as anti-Indian in any way.
January 24th, 2007 at 5:29 am reply
Patrix,
I get a sense that you are implying the movies that depict poverty/backwardness in India should not be appreciated by the western media? By that logic, nobody should make a movie about the negativities ever? The germans will complain against schindler’s list and downfall, americans against american history x, japanese against bridge on the river kwai, brazilians against city of gods and so on. I don’t think that is a very strong case. Forget about oscars. Remember monsoon wedding won golden globes, another prestigious western award. Water is a wonderful movie, and deserves to be in the top 5 (although there are some very glaring mistakes). In oscars, the foreign language category is one of those that awards genuinely good cinema.
Do you really think that RDB is better than Pan’s labyrinth, or volver? Or that Paheli was better than tsotsi?
But seriousle, RDB was really not a great movie. “Maine Gandhi ko nahin maara” was a much better movie, that addressed the unglamorous topic of mental illness. Its the fault of our government (I & B ministry or whatever) which selects the India’s official entry. There are so many Indian movies, no necessarily from bollywood which are frequently overlooked. Girish Kasaravalli’s hasina should have been there in 2005. It is not the oscar’s fault that it doesn’t go to Indian movies, it is really our fault.
~Anoop
January 24th, 2007 at 9:41 am reply
Oi, I guess you have something against Deepa Mehta so anyway don’t know much about her personal motivations so will let it at that.
Piker, I guess the thought of not winning an Oscar still rankles Scorsese and that probably explains trying too hard. But yup, sometimes an Oscar is awarded for cumulative efforts or political correctness more than that specific year. E.g. Denzel Washington.
Shripriya, I am not against making movies that show the downside of India. Heck, I love Mother India and Salaam Bombay. And that was exactly my point. If we really want to win an Oscar, let us give them what they expect to see and cut out the gripes of disappointment.
Anoop, As I said above, I didn’t agree with RDB’s choice as India’ entry to the Oscars. In fact, Water if made in India would definitely have been better. I’m all for making movies about the negativities; in fact encourage it as it brings out the issues into the open.
Also, I mentioned in my post that it was impossible to select just one movie from the hundreds that are made so why not allow for multiple entries? India need not send an ‘official’ entry but might recommend movies that they think are worthy. The filmmakers are then free to take it to the Oscars. Anyway, after the ‘official’ movie is selected, the government doesn’t do anything to promote the movie in Hollywood.
January 24th, 2007 at 2:55 pm reply
Pat: the ‘Sadly’ put me on the wrong track :-) Glad u liked COM. Btw, here is a post on the Cinematical blog on Oscars that you might find interesting.
January 24th, 2007 at 4:48 pm reply
Patrix, sorry, I should have been more clear - my comment re: hating movies that show the downside was not targeted at you. It was a general rant that I’ve constantly seen such opinions across the internet from many desis.
January 24th, 2007 at 7:15 pm reply
Bongo, Thanks for that link. Incidentally, I agree with most of the points they raise.
Shripriya, yeah I understand what you mean. Trying to hide negative aspects aren’t gonna help overcome them.