Mumbai. ‘Missing Ladies’, directed by Kiran Rao, has been nominated for Oscar 2025 from India. The makers will be happy with this, but netizens started a discussion on social media that since Payal Kapadia’s ‘All We Imagine As Light’ won at Cannes, it should be sent for the Oscars. The decision to send the film to the Oscars was taken by a 12-member team, which was led by Assamese film director Jahnu Barua. He explained why Missing Ladies was selected for the Oscars.
Jahnu Barua said in an interview to Indian Express, “The jury has to see the right film, which represents India in all respects. In particular, the film should represent India’s social system and public behavior. Indianness is very important and ‘Missing Ladies’ did well in that regard.”
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Jahnu Barua said, “It is important that the best film representing India is sent as an official entry to the Oscars. There may be many better films than the 29 films. But the jury can only choose from what is given to them, right?” He further said, “We were in Chennai for 7-8 days and were watching the 29 films sent to us. During this time we used to have deep discussions about the films.”
A system is needed to select the best films: Barua
Jahnu Barua said, “We used to shortlist the films and finally come to a name. The final discussion to build a consensus took only half a day as we were constantly discussing the films.” When asked why only 29 films were shortlisted, Barua said, “This is the way we have to find. We need to create a system to do justice to the films coming from Indian cinema. Shouldn’t we send the best film?”
How the selection team works
Jahannu Barua said that he did not feel any pressure while performing this responsibility. He said, “Everything depends on the jury members. We have to follow a strict approach and ensure that there is no influence in the selection process. Each one of us has to use our mind and select the best film.”
Tags: Kiran Rao, Oscar Awards
FIRST PUBLISHED : September 24, 2024, 09:55 IST
