Oscars are no yardstick to judge Indian cinema

The failure of Laapataa Ladies to make it to the Best International Feature shortlist at the Oscars means that this prize will continue to elude Indian cinema. The International Feature category claims to feature the finest from outside Hollywood and the absence of winners from India — only four have made the long list — should not be seen as a reflection of the quality of films from India.

It is not surprising that Laapataa Ladies missed the bus. It is a sensitive and layered comedy about the status of women in the Hindi heartland and how aspirations are changing gender relations in rural India, but it arguably lacks the grandeur and thematic and emotional universality to rock global screens. An Oscar nomination/win does carry more heft than a prize from Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Locarno or our own Goa International Film Festival of India (IFFI) because the Oscars represent the soft power of America and are backed by the commercial muscle of Hollywood. But India’s cinema (Bollywood to regional language film industries) has aesthetic and commercial autonomy and agency that, fortunately, allows its filmmakers to stay rooted and tell stories that reflect the local realities.

Some such cinema does appeal to foreign audiences. It is said Raj Kapoor’s popularity in the USSR was rivalled only by Jawaharlal Nehru. In recent years, Rajinikanth flicks have been toasted in countries as different as Japan and Germany. To be sure, Indian art house cinema has always had its moments globally (the Honorary Academy Award for Satyajit Ray in 1992, and, more recently, a Grand Prix at Cannes for All We Imagine as Light, the entry many thought should have gone to the Oscars. And, of course, Indian artists such as Bhanu Athaiya, AR Rahman, Gulzar, Rasul Pookutty, MM Keeravani, and Chandra Bose have won Oscars for their work in non-Indian productions. Give it time.

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