News Analysis India

Tag: Oscars

  • Hollywood producer Jason Blum bets on ‘RRR’ to win best film for Oscars

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Hollywood producer Jason Blum is confident that SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus “RRR” will bag the best picture trophy at the Oscars this year.

    Blum, the founder of the Hollywood studio Blumhouse that bankrolled Oscar-winning movies such as “Get Out” and “BlacKkKlansman”, predicted the film’s win in a Twitter post on Monday.

    “I’m going with RRR winning best pic. You heard it here first. Mark it down, please. If I’m right, I am awarding myself my own Oscar,” the producer wrote.

    The movie’s official Twitter handle posted a reply to Blum, thanking the producer for his “kind words.”

    “We won you, Blum!! Thank you so much for your kind words. #RRR” read the post.

    Starring Ram Charan and Jr NTR in the lead, “RRR” follows a pre-Independence fictional story woven around two real-life Indian revolutionaries – Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem – in the 1920s.

    It also stars Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn in key roles.

    Released theatrically last March, “RRR” raised reported earnings of over Rs 1,200 crore at the global box office.

    The Hindi version of the film premiered on Netflix on May 20, 2022, and soon became the most popular movie from India on the streamer globally.

    Blum is the latest Hollywood celebrity to shower praise on “RRR”, joining the likes of Jessica Chastain, filmmakers Anthony and Joe Russo, Edgar Wright, Scott Derrickson, Joe Dante, James Gunn, Christopher Miller, screenwriters Jon Spaihts and C Robert Cargill.

    The makers of “RRR” are currently gearing up for the Hollywood award season where its distributor Variance Films has mounted a substantial campaign to have the film recognised in the general categories at various ceremonies.

    The movie is already under Oscar consideration after the film’s hit track “Naatu Naatu” made it to the 95th Academy Awards shortlist for best original song, along with 14 others.

    The nominations for the Oscars will be announced on January 24.

    Besides “RRR”, India’s official Oscar entry “Chhello Show”, acclaimed documentary feature “All That Breathes” and documentary short “The Elephant Whisperers”, are part of shortlists for three other categories.

    While “Chhello Show” is part of the international feature film shortlist, “All That Breathes” and “The Elephant Whisperers” are included in the shortlists of documentary feature and documentary short segments, respectively.

    “RRR” is also nominated for two Golden Globes — Best Picture – Non-English and Best Song for ‘Naatu Naatu’.

    It has received five nominations for Critics Choice Awards — Best Picture, Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Song for “Naatu Naatu”, and Best Visual Effects.

    And last week, the movie made it to the BAFTA longlist for Film not in English Language category.

    It shares space with “All Quiet on the Western Front”, “Argentina, 1985”, “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”, “Close”, “Corsage”, “Decision To Leave”, “EO”, “Holy Spider”, and “The Quiet Girl”.

    The 10 films will compete to secure a place in the final five for the BAFTA honour.

    NEW DELHI: Hollywood producer Jason Blum is confident that SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus “RRR” will bag the best picture trophy at the Oscars this year.

    Blum, the founder of the Hollywood studio Blumhouse that bankrolled Oscar-winning movies such as “Get Out” and “BlacKkKlansman”, predicted the film’s win in a Twitter post on Monday.

    “I’m going with RRR winning best pic. You heard it here first. Mark it down, please. If I’m right, I am awarding myself my own Oscar,” the producer wrote.

    The movie’s official Twitter handle posted a reply to Blum, thanking the producer for his “kind words.”

    “We won you, Blum!! Thank you so much for your kind words. #RRR” read the post.

    Starring Ram Charan and Jr NTR in the lead, “RRR” follows a pre-Independence fictional story woven around two real-life Indian revolutionaries – Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem – in the 1920s.

    It also stars Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn in key roles.

    Released theatrically last March, “RRR” raised reported earnings of over Rs 1,200 crore at the global box office.

    The Hindi version of the film premiered on Netflix on May 20, 2022, and soon became the most popular movie from India on the streamer globally.

    Blum is the latest Hollywood celebrity to shower praise on “RRR”, joining the likes of Jessica Chastain, filmmakers Anthony and Joe Russo, Edgar Wright, Scott Derrickson, Joe Dante, James Gunn, Christopher Miller, screenwriters Jon Spaihts and C Robert Cargill.

    The makers of “RRR” are currently gearing up for the Hollywood award season where its distributor Variance Films has mounted a substantial campaign to have the film recognised in the general categories at various ceremonies.

    The movie is already under Oscar consideration after the film’s hit track “Naatu Naatu” made it to the 95th Academy Awards shortlist for best original song, along with 14 others.

    The nominations for the Oscars will be announced on January 24.

    Besides “RRR”, India’s official Oscar entry “Chhello Show”, acclaimed documentary feature “All That Breathes” and documentary short “The Elephant Whisperers”, are part of shortlists for three other categories.

    While “Chhello Show” is part of the international feature film shortlist, “All That Breathes” and “The Elephant Whisperers” are included in the shortlists of documentary feature and documentary short segments, respectively.

    “RRR” is also nominated for two Golden Globes — Best Picture – Non-English and Best Song for ‘Naatu Naatu’.

    It has received five nominations for Critics Choice Awards — Best Picture, Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Song for “Naatu Naatu”, and Best Visual Effects.

    And last week, the movie made it to the BAFTA longlist for Film not in English Language category.

    It shares space with “All Quiet on the Western Front”, “Argentina, 1985”, “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”, “Close”, “Corsage”, “Decision To Leave”, “EO”, “Holy Spider”, and “The Quiet Girl”.

    The 10 films will compete to secure a place in the final five for the BAFTA honour.

  • Academy Awards 2023: ‘RRR’, ‘Kantara’, ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ feature in Oscar’s reminder list

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has come out with a list of 301 feature films eligible for Oscars with Indian films “RRR”, “Gangubai Kathiawadi”, “The Kashmir Files” and “Kantara” making the cut.

    The reminder list includes movies that can officially compete in various categories but merely featuring in the list does not guarantee that the film will advance in the final nominations of the Academy Awards, to be announced on January 24.

    Pan Nalin’s “Chhello Show” (“Last Film Show”), India’s official Oscar entry, also features in the list along with Vivek Agnihotri’s “The Kashmir Files”, Marathi titles “Me Vasantrao” and “Tujhya Sathi Kahi Hi”, R Madhavan’s “Rocketry: The Nambi Effect”, “Iravin Nizhal” and Kannada movie “Vikrant Rona”.

    Documentaries “All That Breathes” by Shaunak Sen and Kartiki Gonsalves’ “The Elephant Whisperers” are also part of the list.

    From the listed films, four entries — “Chhello Show”, “RRR”, “All That Breathes” and “The Elephant Whisperers” — have already made it to the Oscars shortlists for four categories.

    In the shortlist for 10 categories which AMPAS unveiled in December, “Chhello Show” made it to the best international film segment, while “Naatu Naatu” from the blockbuster “RRR” found a place in the music (original song) category.

    “All That Breathes” was included in the documentary feature shortlist and “The Elephant Whisperers” in the documentary short category.

    This is perhaps the first time India has made it to four Oscar shortlists, the stage before nominations.

    LOS ANGELES: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has come out with a list of 301 feature films eligible for Oscars with Indian films “RRR”, “Gangubai Kathiawadi”, “The Kashmir Files” and “Kantara” making the cut.

    The reminder list includes movies that can officially compete in various categories but merely featuring in the list does not guarantee that the film will advance in the final nominations of the Academy Awards, to be announced on January 24.

    Pan Nalin’s “Chhello Show” (“Last Film Show”), India’s official Oscar entry, also features in the list along with Vivek Agnihotri’s “The Kashmir Files”, Marathi titles “Me Vasantrao” and “Tujhya Sathi Kahi Hi”, R Madhavan’s “Rocketry: The Nambi Effect”, “Iravin Nizhal” and Kannada movie “Vikrant Rona”.

    Documentaries “All That Breathes” by Shaunak Sen and Kartiki Gonsalves’ “The Elephant Whisperers” are also part of the list.

    From the listed films, four entries — “Chhello Show”, “RRR”, “All That Breathes” and “The Elephant Whisperers” — have already made it to the Oscars shortlists for four categories.

    In the shortlist for 10 categories which AMPAS unveiled in December, “Chhello Show” made it to the best international film segment, while “Naatu Naatu” from the blockbuster “RRR” found a place in the music (original song) category.

    “All That Breathes” was included in the documentary feature shortlist and “The Elephant Whisperers” in the documentary short category.

    This is perhaps the first time India has made it to four Oscar shortlists, the stage before nominations.

  • ‘French Oscars’ bars those investigated for sexual misconduct

    By AFP

    PARIS: The Cesar Awards, France’s version of the Oscars, said Monday that anyone being investigated for allegations of sexual misconduct would be barred from its ceremony next month.

    There were fears of protests at the event on February 25 over the latest #MeToo furore involving newcomer Sofiane Bennacer, who is being investigated by police on two allegations of rape and one of violence against a partner.

    Bennacer, 25, who denies any wrongdoing, had been seen as an awards frontrunner for his part in “Les Amandiers” (titled “Forever Young” abroad) about a sexually promiscuous group of drama students in the 1980s.

    It also follows protests at the 2020 ceremony when Roman Polanski, convicted of raping a child in the 1970s, won the best director — which triggered a major reorganisation of the Cesar Academy.

    In a statement, the Academy said anyone facing a potential prison sentence for “violence, notably of (a) sexual or sexist nature” would be excluded from the coming ceremony.

    “It has been decided not to highlight people who may have been put in question by the judiciary for acts of violence,” it said, adding that the step was being taken “out of respect for the victims”, even if they were only “presumed” victims.

    Bennacer was dropped from the long list of possible nominees in November after fresh allegations surfaced in the media.

    The director of “Les Amandiers”, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi (also said to be Bennacer’s girlfriend), denounced “a media lynching”.

    She admitted on Instagram that the film’s producers were aware of allegations against Bennacer during the casting, “but I told them these rumours would not stop me and I couldn’t envision making the film without him.”

    Her famous sister, singer and former French First Lady Carla Bruni, said the actor’s treatment undermined the presumption of innocence, “one of the foundations of our democracy”.

    The Cesar Academy said it was still debating whether people with sexual misconduct allegations and convictions should be banned entirely from future nominations and awards, with a decision due in the coming weeks.

    PARIS: The Cesar Awards, France’s version of the Oscars, said Monday that anyone being investigated for allegations of sexual misconduct would be barred from its ceremony next month.

    There were fears of protests at the event on February 25 over the latest #MeToo furore involving newcomer Sofiane Bennacer, who is being investigated by police on two allegations of rape and one of violence against a partner.

    Bennacer, 25, who denies any wrongdoing, had been seen as an awards frontrunner for his part in “Les Amandiers” (titled “Forever Young” abroad) about a sexually promiscuous group of drama students in the 1980s.

    It also follows protests at the 2020 ceremony when Roman Polanski, convicted of raping a child in the 1970s, won the best director — which triggered a major reorganisation of the Cesar Academy.

    In a statement, the Academy said anyone facing a potential prison sentence for “violence, notably of (a) sexual or sexist nature” would be excluded from the coming ceremony.

    “It has been decided not to highlight people who may have been put in question by the judiciary for acts of violence,” it said, adding that the step was being taken “out of respect for the victims”, even if they were only “presumed” victims.

    Bennacer was dropped from the long list of possible nominees in November after fresh allegations surfaced in the media.

    The director of “Les Amandiers”, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi (also said to be Bennacer’s girlfriend), denounced “a media lynching”.

    She admitted on Instagram that the film’s producers were aware of allegations against Bennacer during the casting, “but I told them these rumours would not stop me and I couldn’t envision making the film without him.”

    Her famous sister, singer and former French First Lady Carla Bruni, said the actor’s treatment undermined the presumption of innocence, “one of the foundations of our democracy”.

    The Cesar Academy said it was still debating whether people with sexual misconduct allegations and convictions should be banned entirely from future nominations and awards, with a decision due in the coming weeks.

  • ‘Joyland’ becomes first Pakistani film to enter Oscars shortlist

    By PTI

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistani film “Joyland” may have faced trials and tribulations at home but to the international community, it was a banger from the start and now has been shortlisted for the Oscars, the first ever movie to do so from the country.

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday released its Oscar shortlists for the upcoming 95th edition in 10 categories.

    “Joyland” is among 15 films that made the cut for the best international feature film honour and will advance to the final stage of nominations.

    The critically-acclaimed film follows a patriarchal family, craving for the birth of a baby boy to continue the family line, while their youngest son secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and falls for a trans woman.

    Sania Saeed along with Ali Junejo, Aleena Khan, Rasti Faruq, Salman Pirzada, and Sohail Samir are part of the main cast.

    It is produced by Apoorva Guru Charan, Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, and Lauren Mann.

    Films from 92 countries and regions were eligible in the best international feature film category.

    India’s “Chhello Show” (“Last Film Show”) also made it to the list, according to the official website of the Academy.

    Other titles in the best international feature film category include Argentina’s “Argentina, 1985”, Austria’s “Corsage”, Belgium’s “Close”, Cambodia’s “Return to Seoul”, Denmark’s “Holy Spider”, France’s “Saint Omer”, Germany’s “All Quiet on the Western Front”, Ireland’s “The Quiet Girl”, Mexico’s “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”, Morocco’s “The Blue Caftan”, Poland’s “EO”, South Korea’s “Decision to Leave” and Sweden’s “Cairo Conspiracy”.

    ALSO READ | With few cuts, Pakistan lifts ban on Oscar-entry movie ‘Joyland’, says Salman Sufi

    Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, who recently boarded the team of “Joyland” as an executive producer, congratulated director Saim Sadiq for making it to the shortlist.

    The official Instagram page of the movie shared a video of Yousafzai expressing her happiness to Sadiq over a phone call.

    “You guys have done a tremendous job. This is a great moment for all the artists and also for Pakistan. It’s an honour to be associated with this movie. This is amazing,” she said.

    Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, chair of the Pakistani Academy Selection Committee this year, shared the news on her Instagram Stories.

    “Ten years after forming Pakistan’s Oscar committee, one of our own is on the shortlist! So much to celebrate,” she posted.

    This is not the maiden international recognition for “Joyland” as it was also the first film from Pakistan to be selected for the Cannes Film Festival and win the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section.

    Its release in Pakistan, however, was a tricky affair.

    After being cleared by the censor board, it was declared “uncertified” for containing “highly objectionable material” that goes against the country’s “social values and moral standards”.

    After facing backlash by celebrities and the public, PM Shehbaz Sharif formed a committee to review the ban, which was later revoked.

    Punjab reinstated the ban in the province though the film was released everywhere else and elicited glowing reviews.

    ISLAMABAD: Pakistani film “Joyland” may have faced trials and tribulations at home but to the international community, it was a banger from the start and now has been shortlisted for the Oscars, the first ever movie to do so from the country.

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday released its Oscar shortlists for the upcoming 95th edition in 10 categories.

    “Joyland” is among 15 films that made the cut for the best international feature film honour and will advance to the final stage of nominations.

    The critically-acclaimed film follows a patriarchal family, craving for the birth of a baby boy to continue the family line, while their youngest son secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and falls for a trans woman.

    Sania Saeed along with Ali Junejo, Aleena Khan, Rasti Faruq, Salman Pirzada, and Sohail Samir are part of the main cast.

    It is produced by Apoorva Guru Charan, Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, and Lauren Mann.

    Films from 92 countries and regions were eligible in the best international feature film category.

    India’s “Chhello Show” (“Last Film Show”) also made it to the list, according to the official website of the Academy.

    Other titles in the best international feature film category include Argentina’s “Argentina, 1985”, Austria’s “Corsage”, Belgium’s “Close”, Cambodia’s “Return to Seoul”, Denmark’s “Holy Spider”, France’s “Saint Omer”, Germany’s “All Quiet on the Western Front”, Ireland’s “The Quiet Girl”, Mexico’s “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”, Morocco’s “The Blue Caftan”, Poland’s “EO”, South Korea’s “Decision to Leave” and Sweden’s “Cairo Conspiracy”.

    ALSO READ | With few cuts, Pakistan lifts ban on Oscar-entry movie ‘Joyland’, says Salman Sufi

    Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, who recently boarded the team of “Joyland” as an executive producer, congratulated director Saim Sadiq for making it to the shortlist.

    The official Instagram page of the movie shared a video of Yousafzai expressing her happiness to Sadiq over a phone call.

    “You guys have done a tremendous job. This is a great moment for all the artists and also for Pakistan. It’s an honour to be associated with this movie. This is amazing,” she said.

    Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, chair of the Pakistani Academy Selection Committee this year, shared the news on her Instagram Stories.

    “Ten years after forming Pakistan’s Oscar committee, one of our own is on the shortlist! So much to celebrate,” she posted.

    This is not the maiden international recognition for “Joyland” as it was also the first film from Pakistan to be selected for the Cannes Film Festival and win the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section.

    Its release in Pakistan, however, was a tricky affair.

    After being cleared by the censor board, it was declared “uncertified” for containing “highly objectionable material” that goes against the country’s “social values and moral standards”.

    After facing backlash by celebrities and the public, PM Shehbaz Sharif formed a committee to review the ban, which was later revoked.

    Punjab reinstated the ban in the province though the film was released everywhere else and elicited glowing reviews.

  • ‘Chhello Show’, ‘All That Breathes’, ‘Naatu Naatu’ enter Oscars 2023 shortlist 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India’s official entry to the upcoming Oscars “Chhello Show”, acclaimed documentary feature “All That Breathes”, documentary short “The Elephant Whisperers”, and “Naatu Naatu” — the song from period action blockbuster “RRR” have made it to the 95th Academy Awards shortlist, the organisers said Thursday morning.

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body behind the awards, announced the shortlists in 10 categories: documentary feature film, documentary short film, international feature film, makeup and hairstyling, music (original score), music (original song), animated short film, live action short film, sound, and visual effects.

    While “Chhello Show” is part of the international feature film shortlist, “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR” appears on the music (original song) shortlist. “All That Breathes” and “The Elephant Whisperers” are included in the shortlists of documentary feature and documentary short segments, respectively.

    There are 15 contenders in the shortlists of the above four categories.

    Directed by Pan Nalin and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur and Dheer Momaya, “Chhello Show” (titled “Last Film Show” in English) is a Gujarati-language coming-of-age story of a young boy’s love affair with cinema in a Saurashtra village.

    The team of “Chhello Show” said they are humbled and overjoyed that their heartfelt ode to the cinematic medium has been recognised by the Academy.

    “Ever since our selection by the Film Federation of India as India’s Official Entry to the 95th Oscars, we knew in our hearts that the film was bound for something special.

    “We would like to thank the FFI, the millions of people who watched and admired ‘Chhello Show’, as well as our international distributors who gave the film a well-deserved push.

    A memorable moment, indeed… #LastFilmShow [#ChhelloShow] shortlisted in ‘International Feature Film’ category at #Oscars2023… OFFICIAL POSTER… pic.twitter.com/1W2dZpJFmz
    — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 22, 2022
    This is a historic moment for India and we hope to bring the Oscar home very soon,” Kapur, Momaya and Nalin said in a joint statement.

    According to the Academy’s official website, “Chhello Show” will compete with films, including “Argentina, 1985” (Argentina), “Decision to Leave” (South Korea), “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Germany), “Close” (Belgium) and “The Blue Caftan” (Morocco).

    This is the third major international nomination for “Naatu Naatu”, the popular Telugu song from SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus “RRR”.

    The pan-India film follows a pre-independence fictional story woven around two real-life Indian revolutionaries – Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Jr NTR) – in the 1920s.

    What a way to start the day… #NaatuNaatu [from #RRR] – the most celebrated dance number of 2022 – shortlisted for #Oscars2023 in ‘Original Song’ category.#RRRMovie pic.twitter.com/hrHzmhpzWJ
    — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 22, 2022
    As part of the music (original song) Oscars shortlist, “Naatu Naatu” will face off with 14 other tracks, which include “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” from “Avatar: The Way of Water”, “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, “Ciao Papa” from “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”, “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick”, and “Carolina” from “Where the Crawdads Sing”.

    “Naatu Naatu”, composed by MM Keeravaani and penned by Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj, was previously nominated for a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award.

    Shaunak Sen’s celebrated film “All That Breathes”, an internationally co-produced Hindi title, is vying for a spot in the top five of the best documentary feature category.

    “We made the shortlist, congos to all the other films!” wrote Sen on his Instagram Stories.

    Delhi-set “All That Breathes” follows two siblings, Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, who have devoted their lives to rescuing and treating injured birds, especially the Black Kites.

    It previously won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, a film gala that promotes independent cinema and filmmakers, and earned Sen the Golden Eye award for the best documentary at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

    Other shortlisted nominees in the documentary feature category are: “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”, “Bad Axe”, “Children of the Mist”, “Descendant”, “Fire of Love”, “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song”, “Hidden Letters”, “A House Made of Splinters”, “The Janes”, “Last Flight Home”, “Moonage Daydream”, “Navalny”, “Retrograde”, and “The Territory”.

    Kartiki Gonsalves’ “The Elephant Whisperers” is a Tamil documentary short that depicts an unbreakable bond between two abandoned elephants and their caretakers.

    It is produced by Guneet Monga and Achin Jain of Sikhya Entertainment.

    In an Instagram post, Monga said she is thrilled for the entire team.

    “It’s an honour to have made it to the top 15 shortlisted documentary films and we absolutely couldn’t have done it without the support of @raghavkhanna24 @alokethebloke from team @Netflix,” the producer, who won an Oscar for the documentary short “Period: End of Sentence” in 2019.

    “Super excited for Last Film Show’s nomination in the official shortlist selection for Best International Feature Film!” she added.

    To make it to the final five of the documentary short category, “The Elephant Whisperers” will have to fight it out with “The Flagmakers”, “Nuisance Bear”, “Shut Up and Paint”, “Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices from a Plantation Prison”, “Anastasia”, and nine other documentary shorts in the section.

    Each shortlists is determined by members of that corresponding branch, except for the international feature film segment. Members from all branches are invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must meet a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category, the Academy said.

    The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards will be announced on January 24, while the Oscars ceremony will be held on March 12, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles.

    NEW DELHI: India’s official entry to the upcoming Oscars “Chhello Show”, acclaimed documentary feature “All That Breathes”, documentary short “The Elephant Whisperers”, and “Naatu Naatu” — the song from period action blockbuster “RRR” have made it to the 95th Academy Awards shortlist, the organisers said Thursday morning.

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body behind the awards, announced the shortlists in 10 categories: documentary feature film, documentary short film, international feature film, makeup and hairstyling, music (original score), music (original song), animated short film, live action short film, sound, and visual effects.

    While “Chhello Show” is part of the international feature film shortlist, “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR” appears on the music (original song) shortlist. “All That Breathes” and “The Elephant Whisperers” are included in the shortlists of documentary feature and documentary short segments, respectively.

    There are 15 contenders in the shortlists of the above four categories.

    Directed by Pan Nalin and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur and Dheer Momaya, “Chhello Show” (titled “Last Film Show” in English) is a Gujarati-language coming-of-age story of a young boy’s love affair with cinema in a Saurashtra village.

    The team of “Chhello Show” said they are humbled and overjoyed that their heartfelt ode to the cinematic medium has been recognised by the Academy.

    “Ever since our selection by the Film Federation of India as India’s Official Entry to the 95th Oscars, we knew in our hearts that the film was bound for something special.

    “We would like to thank the FFI, the millions of people who watched and admired ‘Chhello Show’, as well as our international distributors who gave the film a well-deserved push.

    A memorable moment, indeed… #LastFilmShow [#ChhelloShow] shortlisted in ‘International Feature Film’ category at #Oscars2023… OFFICIAL POSTER… pic.twitter.com/1W2dZpJFmz
    — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 22, 2022
    This is a historic moment for India and we hope to bring the Oscar home very soon,” Kapur, Momaya and Nalin said in a joint statement.

    According to the Academy’s official website, “Chhello Show” will compete with films, including “Argentina, 1985” (Argentina), “Decision to Leave” (South Korea), “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Germany), “Close” (Belgium) and “The Blue Caftan” (Morocco).

    This is the third major international nomination for “Naatu Naatu”, the popular Telugu song from SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus “RRR”.

    The pan-India film follows a pre-independence fictional story woven around two real-life Indian revolutionaries – Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Jr NTR) – in the 1920s.

    What a way to start the day… #NaatuNaatu [from #RRR] – the most celebrated dance number of 2022 – shortlisted for #Oscars2023 in ‘Original Song’ category.#RRRMovie pic.twitter.com/hrHzmhpzWJ
    — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 22, 2022
    As part of the music (original song) Oscars shortlist, “Naatu Naatu” will face off with 14 other tracks, which include “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” from “Avatar: The Way of Water”, “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, “Ciao Papa” from “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”, “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick”, and “Carolina” from “Where the Crawdads Sing”.

    “Naatu Naatu”, composed by MM Keeravaani and penned by Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj, was previously nominated for a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award.

    Shaunak Sen’s celebrated film “All That Breathes”, an internationally co-produced Hindi title, is vying for a spot in the top five of the best documentary feature category.

    “We made the shortlist, congos to all the other films!” wrote Sen on his Instagram Stories.

    Delhi-set “All That Breathes” follows two siblings, Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, who have devoted their lives to rescuing and treating injured birds, especially the Black Kites.

    It previously won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, a film gala that promotes independent cinema and filmmakers, and earned Sen the Golden Eye award for the best documentary at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

    Other shortlisted nominees in the documentary feature category are: “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”, “Bad Axe”, “Children of the Mist”, “Descendant”, “Fire of Love”, “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song”, “Hidden Letters”, “A House Made of Splinters”, “The Janes”, “Last Flight Home”, “Moonage Daydream”, “Navalny”, “Retrograde”, and “The Territory”.

    Kartiki Gonsalves’ “The Elephant Whisperers” is a Tamil documentary short that depicts an unbreakable bond between two abandoned elephants and their caretakers.

    It is produced by Guneet Monga and Achin Jain of Sikhya Entertainment.

    In an Instagram post, Monga said she is thrilled for the entire team.

    “It’s an honour to have made it to the top 15 shortlisted documentary films and we absolutely couldn’t have done it without the support of @raghavkhanna24 @alokethebloke from team @Netflix,” the producer, who won an Oscar for the documentary short “Period: End of Sentence” in 2019.

    “Super excited for Last Film Show’s nomination in the official shortlist selection for Best International Feature Film!” she added.

    To make it to the final five of the documentary short category, “The Elephant Whisperers” will have to fight it out with “The Flagmakers”, “Nuisance Bear”, “Shut Up and Paint”, “Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices from a Plantation Prison”, “Anastasia”, and nine other documentary shorts in the section.

    Each shortlists is determined by members of that corresponding branch, except for the international feature film segment. Members from all branches are invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must meet a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category, the Academy said.

    The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards will be announced on January 24, while the Oscars ceremony will be held on March 12, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles.

  • Samuel Goldwyn Films’ Prez supports India’s selection of ‘The Last Film Show’ for Oscars

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Peter Goldwyn, the president of the US distributor Samuel Goldwyn Films, has called India’s selection of its competitor for this year’s best international film race at the Oscars, ‘The Last Film Show’, which will release in North America as “a really strong contender”.

    Directed by Pan Nalin, the Gujarati-language film is the story of a nine-year-old boy pursuing his dreams in cinema, according to a report by ‘Variety.’ It debuted at the Tribeca Festival in 2021 and has since played fests in Palms Springs, Seattle and Mill Valley.

    “We believe that ‘The Last Film Show’ speaks to the heart and soul of cinema, which will be appealing not only to moviegoers in the United States but also Academy members,” said SGF president Peter Goldwyn, quoted by ‘Variety.’

    “We believe that the film is a really strong contender this year, and we’re excited to bring it to American audiences. We are also eager to bring our expertise with Academy Awards campaigns to the release of this title,” he added.

    According to ‘Variety,’ ‘The Last Film Show’ will have its commercial release in Gujarat, India on October 14, giving it the necessary qualifying theatrical run in its home territory.

    The film had received backlash in its home country by the members of FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees) over its origins and year of making, and from media over snubbing of S.S. Rajamouli’s magnum opus ‘RRR.’

    LOS ANGELES: Peter Goldwyn, the president of the US distributor Samuel Goldwyn Films, has called India’s selection of its competitor for this year’s best international film race at the Oscars, ‘The Last Film Show’, which will release in North America as “a really strong contender”.

    Directed by Pan Nalin, the Gujarati-language film is the story of a nine-year-old boy pursuing his dreams in cinema, according to a report by ‘Variety.’ It debuted at the Tribeca Festival in 2021 and has since played fests in Palms Springs, Seattle and Mill Valley.

    “We believe that ‘The Last Film Show’ speaks to the heart and soul of cinema, which will be appealing not only to moviegoers in the United States but also Academy members,” said SGF president Peter Goldwyn, quoted by ‘Variety.’

    “We believe that the film is a really strong contender this year, and we’re excited to bring it to American audiences. We are also eager to bring our expertise with Academy Awards campaigns to the release of this title,” he added.

    According to ‘Variety,’ ‘The Last Film Show’ will have its commercial release in Gujarat, India on October 14, giving it the necessary qualifying theatrical run in its home territory.

    The film had received backlash in its home country by the members of FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees) over its origins and year of making, and from media over snubbing of S.S. Rajamouli’s magnum opus ‘RRR.’

  • Suriya, Kajol invited to join the Oscars’ Class of 2022

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Popular Tamil star Suriya, Bollywood actress Kajol, award-winning filmmaker Nalin Kumar Pandya aka Pan Nalin, Oscar-nominated documentary makers Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas, and Indian American ‘Deadpool’ and ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ producer Adiya Sood have been inducted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body that presents the Oscars each year.

    Suriya is the first South Indian actor to be inducted into the Academy to date.

    On Tuesday, the Academy released the list of 397 distinguished artists and executives it had invited to join the organisation in 2022. The Academy said the new members had been selected on the basis of their professional qualifications and their “ongoing commitment to representation, inclusion and equity”.

    ‘Variety’ notes that if all of this year’s invitees accept membership, it will bring the total number of Academy members to 10,665, with 9,665 eligible to vote for the 95th Oscars set to take place on March 12, 2023.

    The new invitees, 50 per cent of whom are from 53 countries and territories outside the United States, include 71 Oscar nominees, including 15 winners.

    Some of the big names invited are recent winners Ariana DeBose (‘West Side Story’) and Troy Kotsur (‘CODA’), and nominees Jessie Buckley (‘The Lost Daughter’), Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee (‘The Power of the Dog’).

    Also invited, according to ‘Variety’, are a slew of global artists such as Robin de Jess (‘Tick, Tick … Boom!’), Olga Merediz (‘In the Heights’) and Vincent Lindon (‘Titane’), director Reinaldo Marcus Green (‘King Richard’), screenwriters Jeremy O Harris (‘Zola’) and Jon Spaihts (‘Dune’), and pop star Billie Eilish, who also sang for ‘No Time to Die’.

    Lindon, incidentally, was the president of the competition section jury of the 75th Cannes Film Festival.

  • Academy Awards announces date for 2023 ceremony

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: The 95th edition of the Academy Awards will take place on March 13, 2023, the organisers have announced.

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) shared the news in a statement, also revealing that the nominations for the awards will be unveiled on January 24, 2023. This is the second time that the Oscars will be held in the month of March after the 2022 edition took place on March 28.

    The annual award ceremony will take place at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will air live on ABC in more than 200 territories around the world.

    Additionally, the Governors Awards will take place on November 19, 2022, and the annual Oscar Nominees Luncheon will be held on February 13, 2023.

  • Benedict Cumberbatch jokes about Will Smith’s Oscars slap

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: British star Benedict Cumberbatch joked about Will Smith’s Oscars controversy with Chris Rock in his ‘Saturday Night Live’ monologue.The 45-year-old star was nominated for the Best Actor gong at the Academy Awards for his performance in ‘The Power of the Dog’.Cumberbatch said during his monologue: “I really am thrilled to be back hosting ‘Saturday Night Live’. It’s been a really fun, great week.””I have to be honest, though, because most of the sketch writers pitched me sketches every day, and most were about ‘Doctor Strange’ – which is great, I love the guy, I love playing the character … but I have been in other films.”He joked that Lorne Michaels – the executive producer of ‘Saturday Night Live’ – asked him what other films he’d appeared in, reports femalefirst.co.uk.The actor added: “I said, ‘Well, like ‘The Power of the Dog.’ And he said, ‘Nobody saw it.’ I said, ‘Come on, man, I was nominated for an Oscar for that.’ I mean, I didn’t win. I was beat by Will Smith.”He then added: “No, not physically! Not physically!”Smith smacked Rock during the Oscars ceremony, after the stand-up comedian made a joke about his wife. The Hollywood star subsequently described his behaviour as “shocking, painful, and inexcusable”.

  • After Oscars, Grammy Awards leave out Lata Mangeshkar from ‘In Memoriam’ section

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Fans of Lata Mangeshkar are disappointed after the melody queen was not included in the ‘In Memoriam’ section of the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.

    The absence of the legendary Indian playback singer from the 2022 Grammys ceremony, held on early Monday morning in Las Vegas, comes a week after the Academy Awards left out Mangeshkar from its homage segment as well.

    Mangeshkar, the voice of generations of Indians, died on January 6 due to multiple organ failures. She was 92.

    The fans took to Twitter to criticise the Recording Academy, the institution that conducts Hollywood’s biggest musical awards night, for omitting Mangeshkar’s name.

    Calling out the Grammys for honouring only American music, a user said the event felt “futile and insignificant”.

    “A little unrelated, but when they were paying tributes to artists who passed away this year and there was no mention of Lata Mangeshkar- India’s most loved singer, it all felt so futile and insignificant. These shows have no regard for ‘global’ music- only American.”

    Another wrote: “So both the Oscars and the Grammys failed to honor the late great Lata Mangeshkar in their respective memoriam segments? That’s a shame. #GrammyAwards #Oscars”

    A tweeple said not just Mangeshkar, the Grammys also left out veteran music composer Bappi Lahiri (69).

    Lahiri died of obstructive sleep apnea on January 15, days after Mangeshkar’s demise.

    “#GRAMMYs didn’t pay tribute to the greatest singer of Indian history: #LataMangeshkar or #bappilahiri.”

    The ‘In Memoriam’ segment of the Grammys paid tributes to legendary drummer of Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins, Hollywood acting greats Sidney Poitier and Betty White, singer-actors Meat Loaf, Vicente Fernandez, jazz composer Chick Corea, among many others.

    According to ETOnline, while the show reportedly began with a list of hundreds of names to possibly include, the length of the segment required them to pare down the final list of those to be included.

    A much more comprehensive list is featured on the GRAMMYs website, which also does not mention Mangeshkar or Lahiri.

    Last week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organises the Academy Awards, had also left out cinema icon Dilip Kumar from its ‘In Memoriam’ list.

    However, at its 2022 edition, the British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) featured Mangeshkar in the ‘In Memoriam’ segment and described the music icon as “an Indian playback singer, who recorded an estimated 25,000 songs for more than 1,000 Hindi films over a career spanning 70 years”.