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 'Rang De Basanti', the tragi-comic saga of a group of friends trying to purge society of corruption, lost out in the race for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars shortlist, while acclaimed director Deepa Mehta's 'Water' kept Indian hopes alive, albeit as a Canadian entry. India's official entry to the Oscars 'Rang De Basanti' was voted out of the Best Foreign Film in the shortlist ahead of nominations for the category to be finalised by January 23. Directed by Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra, the critically acclaimed and commercially successful film has memorable performances by Aamir Khan , Atul Kulkarni and Soha Ali Khan among others. However, Indians still have something to cheer about as Canada's official entry 'Water', directed by India-born Deepa Mehta and starring Bollywood heartthrob John Abraham and model Lisa Ray , has made it to the shortlist of nine films for next month's 79th edition of the prestigious awards. The list was announced in Los Angeles yesterday. The films shortlisted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences include Pedro Almodovar's 'Volver' (Spain), Mexico's entry 'Pan's Labyrinth', a fantasy from Guillermo Del Toro and Germany's 'The Lives of Others.' Among the shortlisted movies, five would be nominated for the prestigous award on January 23. But a surprise omission was China's 'Curse of the Golden Flower,' Zhang Yimou's epic which had been tipped to vie for the top prize at the Oscars, which take place in Hollywood on February 25. An Indian film is yet to win the top prize in the foreign film category, though a few movies have made it to the last five. Aamir-Khan starrer 'Laagan' had made it to the final five in foreign film cateogry in 2002, when a Bosnian movie had eventually won the coveted prize.
Related StoriesRang-De-Basanti-Indias-entry-for-Oscar  Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra's blockbuster Rang De Basanti has been selected as India's official entry for the best foreign film category for Oscar Awards 2007. The film starring Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor, Soha Ali Khan and Alice Patten revolves around a young British filmmaker Sue (Patten) who comes to India to make a film on the revolutionaries - Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru - who had left an everlasting impression on her grandfather. The film depicts the awakening of the young ge more Rang-De-Basanti-fails-to-impress-judges-at-BAFTA  Bollywood blockbuster 'Rang De Basanti' lost out to Mexican film 'Pan's Labyrinth' at the British Academy of Film and Television awards in the best foreign language film category. The film, which is already out of the Oscar race, was competing with Mexican Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Lanyrinth, Mel Gibson's 'Apocalypto', Pedro Almodovar's 'Volver' and Paul Verhoeven's 'Black Book'. Rang De Basanti's team was present at the Royal Opera House in London last night for the award ceremony. The BAFTA awa more Indian-director-buoyed-by-Oscar-entry,-looks-ahead Bollywood director Rakeysh Mehra, whose hit film about the transformation of a group of self-absorbed youths is India's entry to the 2007 Oscars, said he will draw on his own childhood for one of his next ventures. Mehra, whose "Rang de Basanti" (Color Me Saffron) -- a film about a group of young Indians and their struggle to break away from their modern-day consumerist existence -- was the year's first hit, said he had begun work on the scripts of two films, "Delhi 6" and "Bhairavi". "'Rang de' was a massive hit but I think every director should move on and stop living in the past," Mehra told Reuters. "I want to do good work and not just be happy and contented with what I've done. I had to move on." < more Rang-De-Basanti-vying-for-a-Golden-Globe-nomination  Rang De Basanti has received outstanding reviews by the masses and critics. The film has been appreciated both in India as well as overseas with phenomenal box-office collections. All the actors and actresses have also been commended for their performances in the film. But the star of the film is no doubt the highly talented Aamir Khan. The approximate figures at the box-office have crossed a path breaking 1.25 crores. And now the film is all set to receive more adulation and praise. Rang De Basanti will vie for a place in the nomin more Is-Rang-De-Basanti-India’s-best-bet- For once, the Film Federation of India (FFI) cannot be faulted for its Oscar entry decision. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Rang De Basanti, India’s official submission for the best foreign language film Oscar, has much going for it although this critic would personally have preferred Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara. Rang De Basanti is a well-scripted, skilfully crafted, thought-provoking entertainer that made waves when it opened earlier this year. In cinematic terms, it is a work of some merit, but the question is: will R more Munnabhai-to-enter-Oscar-race  Overwhelmed by the national as well as international response to the film Lage Raho Munnabhai and perhaps not very happy that his film was not selected as India's official entry for the Oscars, producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra has decided to enter his film for the Oscars as an independent entry in the Oscar race. The fact that Rang De Basanti has been chosen as the official Indian entry to the Oscars has not dampened the spirits of the makers of Lage Raho Munnabhai. Worldwide support Chopra has gone on re more Indias-race-at-the-Oscars  Suddenly, everyone in Bollywood is busy talking Oscars again. Even as lobbying begins for the Indian nomination, speculation is rife in the film industry as to which film will be the Indian entry in the Foreign Film Category at the Oscars. The Film Federation of India (FFI) started collecting entries in the first week of September and the final selection will be out anytime now. Some of the frontrunners in the race are Omkara, Rang De Basanti and Lage Raho Munnabhai. Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Krrish are also be more Bollywood-Films-used-in-Australian-schools  Rakyesh Mehra’s Rang De Basanti which created a wave at the Box Office early this year and also got highly appreciated for its content is now being used at the Australian schools. The film about a group of youngsters turning into rebels to fight for justice is now used for discussion at the Beachworth Secondary Government School near Melbourne city. This school in fact has a session of film appreciation where Indian films are screened to the students and then discussed. Rang De Basanti is being listed to be screened for students of V more A-lot-of-rage,-a-bit-of-Rang-de  It opened as just another Bollywood movie at the box-office, on a nippy February morning. The Aamir Khan tag brought limelight in its wake, and the youth flavour that the promos peddled guaranteed initials. Almost 10 months later, Rang De Basanti is more than a superhit Hindi film gunning for Oscar glory. In an era when films had stopped making a difference, director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s feature ended up as a generation’s wake-up call — quite simply living up to the poster punchline. Bollywood is about big more Is-Rahman-the-best-composer-we-have-  A R Rahmans’s three songs, ‘Khalbali’ and ‘Lukha Chipi’ from ‘Rang De Basanti’ and ‘Chan Chan’ from ‘Water’ have been shortlisted amongst top 56 songs of Oscars this year. It’s a big honour for the man and the country. This reclusive genius who works at his own terms and conditions (he records at night and everyone complies) has been weaving musical gems for more than fifteen years now. It’s obvious to ask, if he is the best music composer we have… Having started off with Mani Rathnam’s mellifluous ‘Roja’, Rahman set a new more |
