Congrats to 'Rajat Kamal' Salim Kumar and director Salim Ahmed on their award-winning movie, Adaminte Makan Abu being selected as India's entry to the '84th Annual Academy Awards of Merit for Achievements during 2011' in the category of 'Best Foreign Language Film' - or in short, for the 84th Oscars.
The nomination, as is the norm, has been made by a 14-member jury of the Film Federation of India (FFI), which has a lofty list of objectives that make you want to shout 'BULLSHIT BINGO.'
In a way the decision by FFI to nominate 'Adaminte Makan Abu (AMA)' is almost like a repentance and might perhaps purge them of yesteryear sins - of forwarding Jeans, Devdas, Saagar and Ekalavya, among other crap over the years.
To be fair, FFI has nominated some worthy contenders such as The World of Apu, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Shwaas, Shatranj Ke Khilari, Salaam Bombay and Bandit Queen, too. Please find the full list here.
Since 1957, one year after the Best Foreign Language Film Award was instituted, FFI has nominated an Indian entry except in 1964, 70, 75, 76 and 1981 to 83 (the reasons for which, I am still Google-ing and am sure will make a great story).
India made it to the short-list alias Oscar Nomination - reserved for just five - only thrice - for Mother India in the very first year of nomination, 1957; Salaam Bombay! in 1988 and Lagaan in 2001.
The 6000-plus Academy Award members (who according to the Academy 'bring the magic of the movies to life. They are the men and women who transport audiences to galaxies far away and to worlds long ago and who create the previously unimagined for the big screen') vote and choose the winner from the final five - and we have never gotten there yet!
The 6000-plus Academy Award members (who according to the Academy 'bring the magic of the movies to life. They are the men and women who transport audiences to galaxies far away and to worlds long ago and who create the previously unimagined for the big screen') vote and choose the winner from the final five - and we have never gotten there yet!
AMA is the second-ever time that a Malayalam film is winning the FFI nomination, the first being for Rajiv Anchal's Mohanlal-starrer Guru in 1987, although another Malayali director also enjoys the claim of directing an FFI-nominee - Bharathan for Kamal Hassan's Thevar Magan in 1992.
(And what the heck, if Mira Nair likes to give some due to her hubby Nair's roots, let us make it the fourth Malayali connection at the Foreign Language Oscars).
Okie, okie - let me cut to the chase; and not dwell on this Google aggregation show-off bit.
Here are what take my goat:
1. The Malayala Manorama story (the link of which I can't get for nuts) - where the writer comes up with some very contrived and melodramatic arguments on the arduous task ahead
2. The full-blare whining by Salim Kumar and Salim Ahmed about how they are so poor and they need Rs 2 crores to market the film
3. The over the top dialogues of Salim Kumar (Sir, be gracious in your ascent; if so, you will have many hands to hold your bums even if you take a hard fall.)
On to the MM story and the 'we are poor whining' - honestly, it is totally premature to talk of it at this stage because AMA must make it to the Final 5, which could be announced by Jan 2012.
This is what the Academy says of the selection:
A. All submissions sent to the Academy will be screened by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Committee(s). After the screenings, the committee(s) will vote by secret ballot to nominate five foreign language motion pictures for this award.
The Academy doesn't reveal how many members are in this Committee; are they the entire 6,000 plus members? (A mail to clarify it to the Academy is still unanswered) Here is the response to the email query, where the Academy says the number of voters is never revealed
Now, assuming that AMA makes it to the final five, read this:
B. Final voting for the Foreign Language Film award shall be restricted to active and life Academy members who have attended Academy screenings, or other exhibition, of all five motion pictures films nominated for the award.
Now, look at the underlined; votes by Academy members who watch all the five films only will count.
In some convoluted way, I believe (as I have always believed since I started following the Foreign Language Awards in 1992) that the less the number of voters who see your film, the more your chances are, provided all those who watch your film, definitely vote for you. (Yeah, I know, it is a bit skewed)
AMA also has a very uphill task this year. The film is virtually unknown, while among the contenders are some stalwart movies that have grabbed global headlines already.
Here is a sample pick:
· The Albanian entry 'The Forgiveness of Blood' won the Silver Bear at this year's Berlin International Film Fest.
· The Greek entry Attenberg was nominated for the Golden Lion at Venice Fest.
· The Hong Kong entry A Simple Life won Deanie Ip the Best Actress Award at Venice, and is a critic favourite already.
· The Hungarian drama The Turin Horse won the Jury Grand Prix at Berlin fest.
· Iran's Nader and Simin, A Separation, received the Golden Bear for Best Film and Silver Bear for Best Actor and Best Actress at Berlin
· And Lebanon's Where Do We Go Now? by Middle East's most dynamic filmmaker Nadine Labaki, won the Cadillac People's Choice Award at Tornoto fest.
For AMA, it will take more than 2 crores to overcome the international PR that these films have already earned.
I pray, though, that Adaminte Makan Abu clinches the nomination and eventually the award.
In the era of superstars and pretenders, the tribe of Abu and the Salims must increase! (Recall this poem by James Henry Leigh Hunt - Abou Ben Adhem - it was a textbook lesson many moons ago)
And what does my gut say? I think, the winner is going to be A Separation or Where Do We Go Now? It is politically right now to honour the Middle East.
ENDS
The Oscar nominations have now been announced and the short-listed films are:
Bullhead (Belgium); Footnote (Israel); In Darkness (Poland); Monsieur Lazhar (Canada) and yes, A Separation (Iran), which has already won the Golden Globe.
27 Feb 2012
And the winner is A Separation
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17174678
(No copyright violations intended with the use of the photograhs above)
