Aparna Sen, Head Of Oscar Selection Committee Comments On Gully Boy Rejection

To no one’s surprise  Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy which  was sent as India’s official entry to the Oscars  did not make  it  to the shortlist.

In  an exclusive chat with this writer  Aparna Sen  who headed  the  jury for the selection of  the Oscar entry says,  “Gully Boy got the most number of votes. Because of its overall artistic merit as well as its popular appeal, it was felt by the jury to be the fittest film to represent India at the Oscars, which is essentially a popular award.”

When I asked her why the  more deserving Article 15  or Hellaro was  not sent to the  Oscars, Aparna  responded, “Hellaro was  not  on  our viewing list.Article  15 did come  up to our final shortlist.But Gully Boy got more  votes.In any case, none of our films were  of the calibre  of ,say,Pedro Almodovar’s Pain & Glory. Almodovar is  a master!?’

Film critic Raja Sen feels we keep sending  the  wrong  film to the  Oscars.  “There are some sensational contenders in regional cinema. I wish the board selecting films for the Oscars would care what we critics had to say. It’s been a particularly dismal year for Hindi cinema ,and yet we seem to keep sending Hindi movies to the Oscars, perhaps because we believe that only big Hindi films have the wherewithal to mount a large Oscar campaign.”