Veteran actor and filmmaker Amol Palekar recently made a bold claim about the prevalence of lobbying in the Indian film industry for Oscar nominations. Palekar, who was appointed chairman of India’s Oscar jury in 2015, shared his experience of the pressures and controversies surrounding the selection process for India’s official entry to the Academy Awards.
In an interview with The Lallantop, Palekar was asked whether he faced pressure from a “particular superstar” to select their movie over Chaitanya Tamhane’s critically acclaimed Court, which was India’s official submission that year. While no names were mentioned, the reference appears to point toward Aamir Khan and his blockbuster comedy-drama PK, which was heavily speculated to be in contention for the Oscars at the time.
Palekar addressed the rumours, stating, “I talked to the press, but my statements were suppressed at that time. I never got involved in lobbying for any particular film and sent Chaitanya Tamhane’s film Court to the Oscars. Another South Indian film was also in the race, but the superstar’s movie was never there.”
The controversy resurfaces at a time when Aamir Khan’s latest production, Laapataa Ladies, was recently rejected by the Academy. Directed by his ex-wife, Kiran Rao, the film was India’s official entry for the Oscars this year but failed to make the cut. While the producers admitted to being disappointed by the outcome, they remain proud of the film’s journey and the recognition it garnered along the way.
Laapataa Ladies, starring Ravi Kishan, Pratibha Ranta, Nitanshi Goel, and Sparsh Shrivastava, joins a long list of Indian films vying for international recognition. To date, only two of Aamir Khan’s films – Lagaan (2001) and Laapataa Ladies – have been selected as India’s official Oscar submissions.
