Why ‘Bahubali’ did not make it to Oscars

India used to struggle to nominate films in Foreign Language category for the Oscars. Now, there is unprecedented competition for selection – a sign of good times for the creativity of Indian film-maker

One shouldn’t read too much into the fact that Bahubali got edged out in the race for making it as India’s official entry to the Best Foreign Language category of the 2016 Academy Awards. Not just Bahubali, many mainstream blockbusters like PK, Haider, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Mary Kom and even Piku got edged out in the decision of the Jury headed by noted film-maker Amol Palekar. Court, a critically acclaimed film by director Chaitanya Tamhane finally made it to the elite list of 62 films  long-listed across the globe that will eventually get short-listed for the Oscars.

Usually, Oscars go to the films that did very well commercially. For example, in 2009, two exceptional films – The Reader and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – were beaten hollow by an India-centric film which swept the box office – The Slumdog Millionaire. Throughout the history of the Academy Awards,  rarely did the  award go to off-beat films which didn’t click at the box office. With that backdrop, many thought Bahubali which became the toast of the world with a total gross of over Rs.500 crores would automatically pass the muster, but it didn’t. Reasons could be many.

Despite the bias of the Academy for box-office success, action epics either of the superhero series or the war epics based on fabled history never, never made it to the final cut. The only exception to this rule has been The Lord of the Rings series which swept the Oscars in the year of release of its first part. Bahubali is superb in technical aspects but it is not without frailties – there were too many loose ends in the narration of the film and they were bloopers well-highlighted in the media about various episodes in the film starting with the seduction scene of lead heroine Tamannah, to the inconsistent make-up for Rana and Anoushka. Technical and visual effects do not guarantee an Oscar nomination, especially in Foreign Language category. In fact, if you go by the recent history, most foreign language films which made it to the cut had powerful evocative themes, war-based stories with powerful human emotions without a message but with a strong sense of visual narrative and a story that resonates. Look at the films which got nominated and won the Oscars in this category from Iran, France, East Europe, Latin America etc. in recent years and you will know why they consistently won Oscar.

On that count, Bahubali was never in the race, it may have shaken up the box-office but it doesn’t have the enduring appeal of a story that warms your hearts. Films with strong visual effects suffer from this syndrome – the time-expiry syndrome. See the film after one year, after three years and after five years – it may not stand the test of time because then there will be other visual effects which would have aced up the circuit and make this film look outmoded. Similarly, films like PK and Piku or even Bangalore Days and Kaakaa Muttai may have had universal acceptance but that’s not enough for a Foreign Language film nomination whose criteria are very different and unique to sensibilities of a Western audience who are used to watching films more blandly and objectively than what Indians are used to.

In spite of this, and the disappointment over the misses of the big films in India making it to the race, we should not stop making films our way. Remember even Lagaan got edged out despite making it to the final cut and one can’t say Lagaan was anyway inferior to a film which bagged ten Oscars like The Slumdog Millionaire. The film which made it now –“Court” is a brilliant movie about the travesties of the Indian Judicial System and makes a point or two about how the judges see the trials, interpret and pass judgements. It is a telling commentary on the system and weaves the story through the eyes of an old folk singer who was charged with sedition. This is not the first time, however, that a Marathi film was nominated. With a strong theater and a vibrant society of playwrights, stage artists and technicians staying closer to the FTII, Pune, the Marathi film industry is the most-under-rated film industry in the country. And they will make more films like “Court” because the industry has outgrown the trappings of living in shadows of Bollywood for decades and is making the finest films in the country, arguably, which are spectacularly different than those we associated with in the past – the likes of Dada Kondke variety. Three cheers to India for selecting a good film. We hope it clears the final muster, still.

For over six and a half decades, India used to struggle to select films and even send nominations for the Foreign Language films. Today, that no longer seems the case. We are seeing an unprecedented competition for creativity as many compete for the honor of nomination. That is a good sign of the Indian film industry.