Is it Bajrangi bhaijaan or Is it Haider? No, its Baahubali! Speculation was rife regarding the selection for prestigious Oscar awards, recently. Indias official entry in the category of best foreign language category of the coveted Academy awards Oscars, is none of the above mentioned movies.
There is a surprise for the people, the movie selected for official entry is the multi lingual (Marathi) Court, which has been debut directed and written by Chaitanya Tamhane.PK, Haider, Baahubali, Bajrangi Bhaijaan were clambering in the Oscar race, but the best foreign category award of the prestigious Academy Awards was taken away by the Court. The decision was meticulously sought out and nearly 30 movie entries were considered by a 17 member selection committee, which was preceded by the veteran director and actor, Amol Palekar.
The movie by Chaitanya Tamhane and produced by Vivek Gomber starring Pradeep Joshi,Vira Sathidar, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Shirish Pawar, Vivek Gomber, and Usha Bana, is an eye opener about the judicial system existing in India. An elderly man about 60 years of age who transmits his messages to the people through traditional country music is blamed for needling another person to attempt suicide, for which he is put in detention.
Thus starts a realistic judicial battle in the courts where the two lawyers carry out their arguments and draws attention to the helplessness and misery people face, as they try to prove their point in courts. The movie highlights that people are left harassed after arguments and they fail because of the out-dated and old fashioned legal system. The movie was shot in a limited budget of Rs 3.5 crores and very easy for the people to connect with.
Chaitanya Tamhane is on seventh heaven! Apparently, he and Vivek were taken aback and surprised when the name of the film was announced as they had no expectations from the movie. Not surprising since the movie had been very low profile since its release. It was released on April 17th, 2015 in just a few theatres but earned the Best feature film award at the 62nd National Film awards 2015. The film garnered critical acclaim from the audiences. It was also selected for National and international fests and has managed to collect 20 awards nationally and internationally.
The selection of Court in the list of Oscars has put speculations regarding Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Baahubali to rest. Bajrangi Bhaijaan starring Salman Khan and directed by Kabir Khan is the story of a mute Pakistani Girl who is taken back to her country by an ordinary man with a magnanimous heart. Baahubali directed by Rajamouli, on the other hand a favorite with the masses, is a very expensive epic movie made on a budget touching Rs 250 crores. But the two movies are not a part of the Oscar list for sure.
This time the selection committee was caught in controversy with some miffed sections insinuating that Amol Palekar was manipulative. However, Palekar insists Court was chosen because the movie is worth the selection.
