Neither in Olympics nor in Oscars

There is a lot of disappointment every year when the officially selected movie does not get selected in Oscar Awards. It is naturally felt by many Indians that the wrong movie was sent. There needs to be some thinking as to why we neither can perform in the Olympics nor in Oscars. Countless sports biographies have pointed clearly to political interference in selection teams and sports associations that are the real cause for India’s weak performance in Olympics. The right talented people do not rise up the ladder. Meanwhile the elites walk away with the selections for their scions. It is the same in Film Industry too. There is an invisible entry barrier.  

Coming to Oscars, it is clear that many are not happy with the current selection. Many felt that RRR had a better chance. Indiaan movies normally get nominated in international cinema. Voting members get a chance to vote for Best Picture and International Category movies while for the rest,individual categories make the selections. These movies are screened for the 9500 voting members with the largest category belonging to Actors. Earlier, the screenings were in Los Angeles only but now they are being screened across multiple cities too like New York City, Chicago, Miami and Atlanta.For a movie to be voted by the members, it needs to fulfil certain requirements. 

The Academy of Motion Picture Award more popularly known as Oscar Award is the highest achievement pinnacle for the winner in the movie industry. It is not just that the winner has arrived, it is that a person has innovated, moved audiences with mesmerizing filmmaking and a beautiful script.  I have seen most of the Best Picture-Academy Award winning movies for the past three decades. I can definitely attest that they do not go for mass entertainers. The stories they select appeal to the sensibilities, definitely convey a story and do not have any masala in them.

To expect that one would expect a Freedom Fighter movie to make the cut where the British were projected in badlight was far-fetched. Nazi Holocaust movies will receive several awards but anti-british movie will not make the cut in India. In a Times of India article, I read that one of the jury members who rejected Sardar Uddham felt that it projected our hatred towards the british. Lagaan was an exception. India’s weak show at Oscars and Olympics is the story of the movie that was not selected or the player who was not selected. Many Indians are asking the same question. Why send athletes who do not fit in for the Olympics or why select movies which will not find any traction in the Oscars. 

Lagaan with just the nomination found its way to all movie lending libraries in the USA. In India, movies are made with Box Office in mind. The Hero is omnipotent & has supreme strength that one hit from him will send the villain at least 10 feet away.  The Hero is elevated so high that the script is tweaked to suit the hero’s mass image. Hence we are never able to create movies which carry story, sentiments and restrained emotions. Our movies contain unnecessary masala sequences seeking to glorify the Hero. The Hero never forgets even his caste identity and has to remind the audience about his blood & family. So much is an Indian movie biased that even the surnames always belong to a few castes. Despite the huge entry barriers, with OTT, many small directors are finding space. It might take some time but some small director might create a movie that is Original, not inspired from European or American cinema.

The New generation directors are directly adapting from international cinema and tweaking the story to the Indian context, adding in the masala elements. They do not even acknowledge the source of inspiration. They directly replicate the scenes without even taking permission. Most of the Indian mass audience care more about  the star than the story. They are no longer coming to the theatres since the demise of single screen theatres. The Multiplexes are too costly for them to afford and hence most wait for the CDs. Now it is OTT. 

It is not that genuine original movies are not coming from talented directors. They are coming for sure especially from the south and that too from the malayalam industry mostly. But of the official entries to oscars so far, nearly 30+ entries were from Bollywood and regional cinema was ignored.  I am sure someday if India wins an Oscar, it will be from Southern Cinema if they can move across the glass ceiling. 

Most Academy Award winning movies do not always have leading actors. Even small actors' movies still make it to the best picture category. Personally, barring a few years when I felt that the selected movie was not worth the Academy Award, I have always found the Academy Award winning movies to be different. Asia should have its own version of the Academy Awards and stop bothering about winning an Academy Award which is heavily biased for American movies since the voters are from the industry. If at all Academy Awards need to reflect globalisation, they should allow voting members from across the global movie associations. The screening should also happen in several countries, not just several locations or allow digital voting entirely and digital streaming for voting across the globe. This would lead to an Audience referendum like what most reality shows are having.