18th March, Mumbai: The Netflix movie The Elephant Whisperers won Best Documentary Short this year, and Naatu Naatu from RRR’s composer MM Keeravaani and lyricist Chandrabose received Best Original Song.
As a celebrated musician and composer who has contributed to numerous Indian films, AR Rahman has often shared his thoughts on the recognition of Indian cinema on the global stage. In the past, he has expressed his disappointment over the lack of representation of Indian films in major international film festivals and awards.
AR Rahman’s comments about India sending the wrong movies to compete at the Oscars reflect a common sentiment among many in the Indian film industry. While there have been notable instances of Indian films being recognized at international film festivals and awards, there have also been several cases where the films selected for submission have not been able to make an impact
He made a statement emphasising the importance of empathy and perspective-taking. Specifically, he suggests that members of a selecting committee should try to understand the perspectives of others by putting themselves in their shoes. Also mention that they need to be able to see the situation from the perspective of a Westerner to understand what’s happening, while also recognizing the importance of understanding their own perspective to see what the other person is doing.
Final Film Show’ has been chosen as India’s official Oscar entry for this year. The film was on the shortlist, but it didn’t receive a nomination. Given the success of the movie RRR, a number of Hollywood publications discussed India’s choice to support the Gujarati picture as a contender in the Best Foreign Film category rather than the Telugu movie, which they claimed was a sureshot success. Numerous media sites even said that RRRwould have won if it had been the chosen image.
The German anti-war drama “All Quiet On The Western Front” took home the Best International Film Oscar this year.