Because that seems to be the only reason why none of us could speak out openly about our “best” film to be sent for Oscars in the Foreign Language category.
Now that i have seen it, let me say it loudly – The Lunchbox is Casablanca compared to The Good Road. I will come back to the film later. Let me also clarify few things first. I have been reading articles, posts and tweets on similar topic since last 3 days, and some of them are on such a wrong tangent. So here it goes.
Oscars
No, it’s not white man’s approval. It’s not even the best function or festival as far as films are concerned. Some of the best American films and actors don’t even bag a nomination. So why are we getting jizz in pants about Oscars?
Because it still matters. Because it’s money, market and reach. Because one nomination (and win) not only puts the spotlight on the director’s entire filmography but the country also comes into focus. Because it opens every possible door for its lead actors. The examples are many. In the last few years only Chile’s No, Israel’s Ajami and Footnote, Algeria’s Outside The Law, Greece’s Dogtooth, Denmark’s In A Better World, Argentina’s The Secret In Their Eyes, Japan’s Departures and Denmark’s After The Wedding have brought so much attention to their country’s cinema just by being nominated. Same goes for actors. Who knew Matthias Schoenaerts before the Bullhead?
A Cannes win also has the power to do all that. Ask the Romanian filmmakers. But Cannes is not so mainstream, Cannes is French, and Oscar is Amreekan. You know the difference, and two shall never meet. One is purely about cinema, the other is more about box office. Btw, do auteurs eat big burgers?
That’s the simple reason why Oscars count. Not for any white man supremacy. In 2011, when Asghar Farhadi went on stage to collect his award for The Separation, almost everyone knew that it was not only the “best foreign film” but it was the “best fucking film of the year”. The white man supremacy and approval logic is so 80s. The world went back to all his films and he was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world by Time magazine in 2012. Difficult to believe that the journey started with “Nader and Simin” (title was changed later) getting the distribution fund at Berlin fest.
So do i believe in Oscars? NO.
An award ceremony which never did any justice to Martin Scorsese, how can they be fair?
Do i watch Oscars? YES.
The only day in the year when i get up early and see the rising sun. Why? Because Marty believes in it. Because it’s good fun to watch some of your favourite actors, directors, screenwriters, all under the same roof and still be so cool and candid. And because they still make it “look” professional. Some of the best talents never get their due but when they get, it changes everything. One nod is all it takes. That’s it.
Foreign Language Category & The Good Road
In the last few years, this has become one of the most toughest category. The number of submissions keeps on increasing every year. You are not just competing with the best of the Amreekan cinema but from best of the world. Last year it was a new record with 71 films. This year’s running list already has 45 films. Heavyweight Wong Kar-wai’s The Grandmaster is already in the ring.
Since FFI’s announcement on The Good Road came out, anyone having any doubts about it, the first question asked was have you seen it? And as far as i knew nobody except the FFI jury had seen it. So, before writing any post on it, i decided to watch the film, and am so so disappointed after watching it.
So far i was only arguing that it’s always about the “right” film at the Oscars, it’s not about the “best” film. Why get so holier than thou and sentimental about putting our “best” film? Especially when Oscars is just another ‘market’ event that does wonders. Put the “right” film out, play according to the games, play it smart, and get a nod. Simple. Just look at the big picture.
Now, if i consider this is the standard of our best film which is being sent to the world audience, am sorry to say that people will laugh at us. Don’t believe me, go watch “The Good Road”. The film is easily available on dvds and #youknowwhere. It doesn’t even look professional. Except an idea and intention, it has nothing to offer. It’s boring, the production looks tacky, direction is bad, performances are inconsistent, and acting by non-actors look like non-acting only. The arid landscape and the use of music are the only things that work.
The only Oscars bait was a sequence involving young girls in prostitution racket standing on platforms surrounded by coloured tubelights. Haven’t seen anything like that on screen.
With “The Good Road” as our submission, what’s our chance at the Oscars? i think ZILCH. I hope am proved wrong but i doubt it.
And what i am most confused about is the sudden support for the film. As a friend pointed out, just because it has suddenly become the David in front of The Lunchbox Goliath with UTV, Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap in its support? Strange. Very, very strange. Watch both the films and compare the merits.
More strange is the fact that not a single mainstream critic in this country bothered to review the film when it released – in theatres and on dvds. That says more about the state of film criticism in this country.
The Lunchbox
With The Lunchbox, many of us believed it had a *chance*. Yes, just a chance. And we have been shouting about it. It’s a tough battle there. But with Sony Classics having its US rights and many influential American voices already pushing for it after watching the film at Cannes, Toronto and Telluride, it had the right visibility factor going for it. Michael Moore, Ted Hope and many others tweeted about it. Aseem Chhabra has written more about it here. Also, The Hollywood Reporter and Indiewire, the two ends of spectrum, were counting it among the frontrunners. And am sure they know (at least little bit) more and understand their Oscars more than us.
It was just not the “right” film but it’s a much, much better film than “The Good Road”. Just ideas and intentions don’t make a good film, or a good road.
So what did the FFI jury saw in the film which i could not? Let me quote from this interview of Gautam Ghose…
The criteria is simple — we had to select a film that represents the country perfectly.
WTF! Represents the country perfectly? As in peacocks and elephants? Do they watch the Oscars? Not sure what it means (Can someone explain?). After watching the film, all i can say is that The Good Road represents us amateurishly. You all made us look tacky in front of the world. Forget The Lunchbox, any other film would have been better too.
Though just Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur’s performances were enough to pick the film. These two are not just the best performances of the year in Indian cinema, but they can be easily counted as among the best ones in world cinema too. So I would sincerely like to smoke what the FFI jury was smoking. Anyone?
Because this was our chance. Because we needed it. We needed to tell the world that we do more than naach-gaana now. We needed to assure Sony Classics that you can look and pick more Indian films that can do wonders. You don’t need to wait for 10-15 years again. We needed to tell the world that it’s not just Iranians, Romanians, Koreans, Greeks and Australians, we are also heading in right direction. And this was the best stage to do it. We had a chance, a bright and fair chance. But what a fuck up! what a royal fuck up this turned out to be.
One more thing – who made the rules suddenly that FFI can’t disclose the names of jury members? I would surely love to know the names of those 12 or 15 or 19 people who thought The Good Road was better than The Lunchbox and every other film that was submitted for consideration. As far as i remember, when the jury meet used to happen in Mumbai, almost all the jury members used to present in the press conference to announce their choice. What happened suddenly in the last two years or so? Are they afraid to endorse the film publicly because their taste will be questioned? Someone enlighten me here too. Come on, come out, tell us you loved The Good Road. And as the saying goes, any festival selection or win always tells you more about the jury than about the film. I will still try not to judge you.
( PS – The only consolation is we are not the only morons. We have company)
F.i.g.h.t C.l.u.b 
I love your comments. What do you think about this idea floating around that Modi was behind it?
I guess that is just political rumors at play. We are a gullible nation unfortunately with a public with uninformed views honestly. Even if its “informed” the information its informed on is either one sided or is pure nonsense as references. Its sad that formulation of a wholesomely rounded point of view is not taught. It is sad indeed that a film like Lunch Box could not be nominated. Sometimes I feel like the FFI and other such industries not to mention even the India Design Mark is upto mischief like this in order to keep their jobs, worried about sheer competition maybe, considering the scams IDM had when it came to favoring certain design institutes in 2011/12. I will not add references here as my main intent is not IDM but its the Lunchbox.
I am not sure what exactly was on our minds, but I do know this, when we come into power or a position of authority when it comes to the film industry, we aren’t ready to accept films/any projects that entail a possibility of a potentially beautiful reality with a sense of inspiration, rather go for films that tend to aim towards a false sense of glittery happiness and portrayed harmony of the nation. “Naam Bade Darshan Chhote” meaning literally “Big Names Small Service” in my interpretation meaning “Big Talks but Poor Choices”. I really hope they rapidly begin introspecting on the decisions they make.
I am not a supporter of Modi or anything, but the rumor itself is blah. He loves Gujrat doesnt mean he will let India down. I hate regionalism, it divides the nation.
WE ARE OPPOSING THIS NOMINATION … FOR THE PROSTITUTION SHOWN IN IT .. WHICH IS NOT REAL GUJARAT IMAGE … TO GO AT THE INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCES…. WE ARE GOING DO A PIL IN HIGHCOURT .. PL SUPPORT US ..
WE ARE OPPOSING THIS NOMINATION FOR OSCAR… FOR THE PROSTITUTION SHOWN IN THIS GUJARATI FILM !!!!!!!!!!!.. WHICH IS NOT REAL GUJARAT IMAGE , I ALREADY SEND ONE LETTER TO CENSOR BORD ALSO… …. WE ARE GOING DO A PIL IN HIGHCOURT VERY SOON .. EXPECT YOUR SUPPORT..
Well the day before the entry was announced, the Modi govt. stripped the guj film industry of its funds and was criticised in local dailies. His ministers defended the move on Tv talk shows and called the Guj film industry a joke. 24 hrs later this comes up. And lo! Modi is all praise; his ministers deny comments. So i am pretty sure Modi doesnt have anything to do excpet the congis missed a chance to have a go at Modi s tweet.
please visit our Face Book Page “WE PROTEST ‘THE GOD ROAD’ ….. get us maximum LIKES and also SHARE YOUR views.
We can Provide you DVD copy of the film ‘The Good Road’ for preview on personal use and returnable bases.
Is there any appeal process?
I was thinking about the same.. Chalein kya India Gate Candles leke? 😀
great piece mr. snob!
Brilliant write up CilemaSnob 🙂
I am not really enthusiastic about Oscars but have been reading a lot about it, thanks to the links that you keep posting on twitter.
Going by what I have read including your article, it seems, we have lost the race already. Would be more than happy if proved wrong. 🙂
Btw, Lisa, I think that is an erratic thought.
i seriously believe under RTT you should be able to get the names of the other jury members. someone – an indian citizen has to file it!
Another strange and sad article/news have come across that it has been selected because it presents Gujarat in bad light… 😦
Well the Oscar entry from India never had a great reputation anyway. Barfi!, Devdas…even the Tamil film, Shankar’s ‘Jeans’ was chosen many years ago!
lot of discussion’s already been done. we should take some action (as in our capacity)
as aseem chhabra says ‘I think all film lovers in India should use RTI Act to find out who were the members of this year’s FFI jury..
may be once we know the jury we can ask them about the choices and kind of get answers?
Cannes was probably not mainstream in the 60s. Its very much mainstream now, with Hollywood being a big part of it. The Oscar’s are not awards…they are a television event/spectacle. It’s not really about the art. So, relax. The Lunchbox will anyway get a U.S release, but The Good Road won’t. It’s not as if audiences are ignorant today, that they need an Oscar to tell them to watch a film.
Perfect..!! Nailed it 🙂
Audience today may not ‘not watch’ a movie because it didn’t get an Oscar, but they ‘will’ watch a movie which received an Oscar.
I haven’t watched The Good Road, but yes Irrfan Khan’s visibility abroad and international festival attention showered on The Lunchbox definitely made the latter a better choice. What of the news I heard that they can independently submit the film for consideration?
REALLY hoping NaMo puts his weight/money behind TGR and comes up with a miracle. That will be doubly sweet ‘cos an Indian film will reach the final 5 and the left-intellectuals supporting TGR won’t know whether to applaud or hide.
Where’s the option to like a reply?
I envy your wit so much I would kill you 😀 😀
That is deliciously diabolical!
Did they check the IMDB ratings and decided? Or did the IMDB ratings for TGR shoot up after the nomination?
True True True:) let’s remember the Woman who was one of the producers Lydia For Lunchbox and when Karan put his finger in the pie. We all smelt Disgust ..people in Delhi who have nothing to do with films also know and said it was wrong doing . Sad, That a Film Like Lunchbox missed out on this Chance. Power to Ritesh Batra ! I am just happy to know tht we have a filmaker who understands the universal language of Cinema, unadultrated . Der aayenge par Durust Aayenge. Lets not Blame anymore or get Angry . Abhi aage Bahot Oscars Aayenge.
We must be ethical with every small and big deals. Lets not look outside but within – cause and effect. Hurts but it is all that works!
Although I have not seen ‘The Good Road’ I agree with you a 100%. I believe that the most honest category in the Oscars is its foreign film category. I mean lobbying happens there as well and to a large extent but more often than not, the films nominated for this category are genuinely great films. The problem with us is that we have never understood what that category or Oscars in general is all about. And let me say this, if ‘The Good Road’ is as bad as you say it is, it’s no exception. We have sent ‘Jeans’ for goodness’ sake (how did that film represent what India is all about??). We have sent Barfi – an amalgamation of 70 other foreign films, pointing out to the Oscars jury that if in case you didn’t notice, we are great at plagiarism. Also along with ‘The Good Road’, the other nominations were ‘Vishwaroopam’ and ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ – I mean give me a break!! To wrap it up, I am not surprised at all. We have hardly ever considered regional cinema for Oscars because we don’t even notice it – there have been Tamil films like ‘Subramanyapuram’ that no one knew about. I am sure there have been many others in other languages that we don’t even know about. At least the jury should have known since they are sending films from India and not just Bollywood. And finally when they do notice regional films, they pick ‘Vishwaroopam’ (commercial trash) and ‘The Good Road’ – at the cost of repeating myself, give me a break!!
The only reason Jeans was chosen for the Oscar race was coz of the producer of the film – a certain Mr. Ashok Amritraj who runs the production company Hyde Entertainment in Hollywood. It’s all about money and influence.
Guys there is nothing about Gujarat and/or Modi here. Please for FFS, leave that blown up point aside.
We are talking about a movie, a movie which had the potential to make it big, very big, out to the world audience and possibly get more attention/finance/eyes to Indian cinema and artists. No one of us are hankering about Oscars but if there is a big poster outside of a well-renowned restaurant saying that ‘The food item X’ is their best offer, people will certainly check that out. That is all.
Absolute truth. Spoken. Period.
Hats off snob!
Now waiting for the other kind of comments.. Lunchbox la box office gross dekja kya.. What did tgr earn .. lunchbox is a better movie hence.. When had the ffi people sent the”best” or “right” movie to oscars ever.. We diss Oscars but still want the recognition.. Lunchbox had already achieved a lot.. Wide release, good numbers which will definitely go up after the us release.. No need to be cribbing about it now i guess.. It has
found its audience
I could not agree more with you. Haha, “cinema that represents the country”. What are they naive or just stupid?
Delighted to know that this bunch of sophisticated critics is obsessing about “money, market”, instead of good cinema. Anyway, please do us the favour of telling us your names instead of hiding behind your cloak of anonymity.
Ae Girish bhai, padha nahin kya theek se? TGR is trash cinema. Saaf likha hai. (And am sure you’ve not even seen it varna film dekhne ke baad kisi ki uske favor mein mooh kholne ki aukaat nahin rah jaayegi.)
@Girish – it’s money, market and reach for “good cinema”. what’s the harm in that? Btw have you seen Vihir? It’s one of the best films we have made in last 10 years or so and it’s still not out on dvd. “good cinema” doesn’t mean it should just die. it deserves that “money, market”
I agree with U. Vihir is one of the best ever cinema produced in India. At the same time I am disappointed by fact that Reknowned Producers have not released DVD.
You’re protesting too much. You’re so enamoured of your dabba, you don’t seem to have given Good Road a fair viewing. Anyway, you’re just revealing your lack of sophistication and your devotion to corporate interests here. You don’t seem to have a genuine indie bone in your body.
You deserve middle-brow, feel-good nonsense that you seem to think passes for excellence.
And you didn’t answer my question: why the anonymity if you’re so passionate for cilema? Don’t you have the courage to stand by your convictions?
@Girish – have you seen The Good Road? Do you think it’s better than The Lunchbox? If the answer is yes to both the questions, good for you.
Yes, i agree i might be biased against TGR. But i tried, it just didn’t work for me.
“lack of sophistication and your devotion to corporate interests” – cinema is the only interest i have here. Otherwise wouldn’t be wasting my time, energy, space, money without any advertising and sponsorship, and having said no to both in past.
You don’t seem to have a genuine indie bone in your body – If you think so, am cool with that.
You deserve middle-brow, feel-good nonsense that you seem to think passes for excellence – if you mean Lunchbox is such, am in good company with Cannes, Telluride, TIFF, Michael Moore, Ted Hope.
why the anonymity if you’re so passionate for cilema? Don’t you have the courage to stand by your convictions? – What’s the connect between the two? Am sure you are not aware about the cinema blogging scene worldwide. People do it for various reasons and i have my one. And almost everyone knows who i am. really not anonymous. And even if you think so, then, No, sir. i really don’t have the courage. Quite a meek man, what do i do.
I saw The Good Road last night. To be fair to the film, it had a very interesting idea to begin with but the contrived screenplay and amateurish direction kills it over and over. I don’t buy ‘boring’ or ‘expletive laden’ as a critique for the film. Boring is relative and expletives are a form of the milieu. It has great music and some interesting arid wide landscapes but those inept performances and tacky treatment stare at you through the film, without a blink. It’s appalling to know the FFI’s decision to pick this one ‘unanimously’ and not being able to see the obvious. If The Lunchbox had in fact made it to the short list, it would have let to so much of focus on independent minded films. TLB has funding from various countries, picked up by studio giant in the US. A nomination/win would ensure they reinstate the faith in our films and not shy away from producing films in India again. Back home, financiers and distributors would really wake up to such films being produced and promoted. I am struggling to get my film funded and TLB’s Oscar entry would have at least ensured a mindset change in the industry if not anything. We will always be the underdog and this was our chance to be looked at with seriousness and respect. Personally, I would have loved to see Ship of Theseus as our country’s submission to the Oscars but I’d still root for The Lunchbox because I really loved the film and is the ‘right’ film to be pitched in. And please don’t force the faux jingoism of ‘TGR is our country’s entry, so support it’. This post gets it so bang on!
What an amazing fuckin article.
Since when did the foreign film category at the Oscars become legitimate or even honest?!! It’s US/UK/Canada/Australia on one side across several categories vs. the rest of the world…with 5 nominations only in one category! I’m amazed at the world for taking it seriously.
[…] Yes, i saw ‘The Good Road’ and want to know what the FFI Jury was smoking […]
Very Well written articles..Straight to the point.. Agree that If Oscar is about representing the country why not send Chennai Express. This shows a situation that V have money because such stuff works here…
So anyone knows what was jury smoking? 😉
RAMU’S ” ROAD” WAS BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!
If The Good Road is such trash, it doesn’t deserve any support from UTV/Johar/Kashyap/anybody. Simple as that. Just like Barfi/Taare Zameen Par/Paheli/Jeans/Devdas didn’t deserve any backing
(they weren’t good enough, and didn’t stand a chance, so why waste time and money?). With this monumental blow up, we just lost many future international producers/exposure. God only knows when will all this happen again simultaneously–a film so Indian yet so universal, international acclaim, festivals, THR & Indiewire, Sony Pictures+UTV, a global face like Irrfan. We had so much going. What a shame.
And I am surprised that none of those 19 protested at the final choice. Unanimous, really? Don’t they know what quality cinema is (I am sure a majority of them can easily tell a film that bad from a film that good) ? Don’t they know that Oscars are all the more important for an industry like us that’s going through a major overhaul with global distributors slowly pouring in (the jury had two mainstream directors, they must be knowing all this) ? Didn’t they try to convince the others? Didn’t they express contempt? Didn’t they fucking walk out at such an outrageous decision?
very well written…Let me kiss the bald and bold
I love every word written well researched thanku I feel miserable to belong here the jury in any situation stinks in our country
i wanna smoke too
SOT would have been a great choice at oscars… A film like SOT being selected would have done wonders to the industry especially to the indies with balls. Because its a film thats difficult to make and its a rare case of it being well made. A lot of difficult n interesting intellectual subjects and science fiction would have got a support cause of it. Cause films like lunchbox being such good dramas will still get producers n support as well as an audience whereas movies like sot by first time directors i really wonder would ever find a producer in india or even an audience. We would have got films like pi, fountain,solaris,etc then coming from india soon but it will take maybe another 20 years for the audience to mature.
I doubt ! SOT was a picked concept and narrative …also it was amateurish and vociferous. Lunch Box ! Lunch Box ! A powerful piece of work, confident and self-assured piece of work !
lunch box was just an average affair. Movies like midhunam and paradesi need to be encouraged which are out-of-box subjects. Last year It was Barfi which doesn’t even compete with eega/naan ee… These FFI ppl were in complete bollywood hangover. Thank god they overcame and picked a movie giving hope for regional movie aspirants. India is not just bollywood…
Troll!
guys, official selection is the only way to Oscars? cant we go independently?
I wish I could see ‘The Lunch Box’. Probably ‘not getting selected for oscars’ may help it in the end, though the global audience is lost.
Reblogged this on Just My Perception.
While defending their choice of film to be sent as India’s entry at the Oscars this year, noted filmmaker Gautam Ghose, also the Head of the Selection Committee, FFI, said, “This is a new film but “The Good Road” surprises as it shows the unknown India through the story of a boy who is lost and then found while his family is on a holiday trip to Kutch”. I wonder what Ghose and other members of the jury meant by “unknown India” or “surprise”! Was it the portrayal of the driving experience on a long, dusty highway? Was it the depiction of how village-folks and truck drivers pick women from brothels at remotest terrains of India? Have they even seen, say for example, Dev Benegal’s 2009 film “Road, Movie” or even that illusion-scene from “Manorama Six Feet Under”? Or, was it the visual appeal of the white, wide and wicked Great Rann of Kutch under the scorching sun? I rather find the Gujarat Tourism clip better, with all that moonlight and AB (great work, NaMo!) So, even if I let go that fundamental debate why should an Indian film always has to give off that quintessentially “Indian” (whatever that is!) smell to be selected for such events, I cannot but doubt the merit of the film as it is. Yes, the film, thanks to Resul Pookutty, has that live-action short film type of feel with all that natural noise and silence pouring in and seeping out, but it fares poorly in terms of screenplay and acting. Wiki says “The Good Road” is a hyperlink film. If this is hyperlink, what is a “Babel” or a “Syriana”, or even a “Kanchenjunga”? Superduperhyperlink? The three “stories” are so disproportionately woven that sometimes it seems it is just one story (the one Gautam Ghose managed to find!) told with side characters and this unequal screen-sharing tells upon the actors. I guess a large group of locals had to act impromptu in lion’s share of the film but that can never be an excuse why Gyan Correa wasted Sonali Kulkarni and Ajay Gehi (he should immediately read “Ekei Boley Shooting” by Ray to learn how to handle unskilled, local extras on a shoot). Child actor Poonam Kesar Singh was a good choice for her role though. Priyank Upadhyay, an MPhil scholar from Central University of Gujarat, has also done reasonably well as Shaukat, the truck driver’s helper. The particular Rann of Kutch scene with Jats in traditional attire and Rajat Dholakia’s background music playing in the background is the best in my humble opinion.
The recent row between “The Lunchbox and “The Good Road” is pointless. The former is a much, much well-made film and should have been considered for the slot. I will be damned if “The Good Road” makes it to the Shortlist, but will still root for it, hoping that the AMPAS people go nuts once in a while!
By the way i have seen lunchbox and The good road too.. lunchbox is far far better than the good road… in good road whatever has shown, as gujrati i don’t know (if its there )something like gyanji has shown and there are many unnecessary thing in film. so disappointed as film lover and also as a gujrati about this decision of FFI to send THE GOOD ROAD for Oscar….:/
I have watched both movies and now I am sure that FFI is full of jerks.
I haven’t watched both the movies but I’m sure they must be much better than Jeans(1998), Paheli & Eklavya(2007) ….
THE ONLY THING GOOD ROAD IS BETTER THAN………………….IS MUMBAI’S ROADS!!!!!!!!!!!
[…] Now that critics are finally taking a look at The Good Road, its selection as India’s Oscar submission seems even more questionable. […]
Dude, Where were you when ‘shit’ films like Devdas, Jeans, Paheli and Barfi were selected to be sent??
The reason it’s a big deal this time is because in other years, no matter how good or terrible the films we sent were, none of our films in contention had a real chance anyway. This is not the case with ‘The Lunchbox’, which was already being looked upon as a frontrunner for the Oscars and had the marketing muscle to pull it off. Which is the reason for the outrage. Hope that explains it.
-JSB
Its The Bad Road to the Oscars this year. True film fans will eagerly yearn for more Lunchboxes next time. Great article moifightclub, hats off!
Wake the f*** up FFI!
awe inspiring outrage. So encouraging to see so many ‘radical’ thinking film lovers (who never claimed to have any faith in the system to begin with, the system having never done one thing right to warrant any faith anyway) suddenly finding themselves so angry at it. The stance now seems to be, ‘the system’ is ok, but why is it not functioning the way it should? (‘as is evident in them not choosing the lunchbox. After all, if they had made the right choice, we could have had a ‘fair’ chance and then the world would have woken up to indian cinema, international money could have come in, better cinema could have been made possible here’). In my humble opinion, the lunchbox is a very decent film, perhaps one of the couple of films worth watching this year. But I would frankly have been stunned if it had made it to the nominations at the academy. It might have. ( I am often stunned). But i don’t think so sir. I am not at all trying to support the committee’s decision. In fact, the question is not at all what they were smoking when they made their choice of the film. The question rather should have been, what have they been smoking forever? I don’t think they smoked anything exceptionally different this year. ‘The disillusionment’ is so bloody misplaced because there was never any hope at all. If ‘the lunchbox’ had been chosen, would it have then reinstated the faith of these angry gentry in the system. (of course, there is always the excuse, ‘the right beginnings could eventually…’). This system has always been killing you. Now you want to make friends with the system by converting them? (‘yes, one needs money to make films….’ ), with your expression of disagreement? Frankly, i don’t even see any anger here. I only see disagreement. Disagreement chooses words that sound angry. Anger, however, fires. Who has the ammunition anyway? Not even those who have the license for it. You are dying. Now you want those very people to resuscitate you? Those who have deprived you of your oxygen? Those ‘big’ filmmakers who decide eventually to lend you a helping hand? (since you will never really be any threat anyway to them?). ….Well, at least, something is being said…which is better than not saying anything.. and we all know something is better than nothing.. and this something may lead to something… or some such thing… and look, there are even those who dare to shut their social networking accounts as they suddenly find their need to contemplate (didn’t we all know from a long time that facebooking doesn’t let you think?) Such drama. Such drama. Applause. Applause. Truly oscar worthy. Of course, it wouldn’t matter that you will still not make it to the nominations.
[…] did CilemaSnob do? He single-handedly killed Gautam Gosh and his gang with his M60 blazing in this and this […]
I haven’t seen TGR but Lunchbox was majorly hyped. It was yet another Amelie Poulain-esque blowing in the breeze with soft focus and appropriate pauses. The story was downright predictable, no tension at all in the film. I would rather Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (if my intention was to not care about the Oscars anyway)
TLB is indeed overhyped. I have a bone to pick about the basic premise of the movie——— the tiffin is delivered to the wrong person.. In her normal state of mind(some might argue that she didnt have that coz of the husband’s apathy), she would ask the dabbawala about it the very next day, and tell him to ensure that it reaches the right person. But no!!!! She sends a ‘thank you’ note for finishing eating the food which her husband wouldn’t!! Really???? Is that all it takes to start random conversations with an unseen stranger? To make it more unpalatable, she starts providing him with her family’s personal details within no time at all…ye baat kuchh hazam nahin hui. Once you’re willing to ignore this fundamental glitch in the story, it is kinda palatable. Well enacted, well directed, and good attention to details otherwise. An especially good piece of acting by Irfan, who’s used so many subtle nuances here & there, that you believe him as the catholic, past-middle-age bombay man.
So yes, TLB is not bad if you ignore the blunderous premise, but I’d have loved to see ‘Ship of Theseus’ as the nominated one. If only….
Chalo Chalo line pe bhaito protest pe, hai dum kismey 🙂
Veey well written . Kudos !!!
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