Covering Bollywood and the Hindi Cinema

Vidhu Vinod Chopra-directed Eklavya may have  bombed in the Indian Shores, but the Film Federation of India see it as the perfect entry for the Oscars.  As expected many are not too happy about this selection and feel that Chak De India was a more deserving candidate.

Pahlaj Nihalani, president of Association of Motion Pictures and TV Programmes that selects the entry, said: “Yes, it is true that Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Eklavya has been selected as India’s official entry to the Oscars.”

However, Nihalani was peeved with the jury for selecting a film ‘rejected by Indian masses.’
“It is disgraceful that the jury has selected a movie for the Oscars, which has been rejected by the people. I don’t see any logic behind selecting this movie when there were other deserving movies like Chak De India, he told PTI.

“If this is the taste of the jury, then it is better they leave the industry. Eklavya does not deserves an Oscar entry. This is a clear case of partiality. The selection has been done under the influence of certain people, which is shameful,” he said.

According to Nihalani, such a step will spoil the image of Indian film industry, which is getting global attention now.

“The way Indian films are becoming globally recognised, wrong decisions like this will only spoil our hard-earned goodwill. This is blatant misuse of power,” he said.