Covering Bollywood and the Hindi Cinema

Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the man behind Eklavya has been extremely vocal about his critics and defends he Oscar nomination of his movie. Here is a recent interview of the director:

Eklavya’s  nominated for the Oscars. Were you expecting it?

Yes and no! I was expecting a nomination for Parineeta and Lage Raho , and they never got nominated. So I had stopped expecting any more nominations. Keeping that logic in mind, I didn’t expect a nomination for Eklavya .

What was your reaction when you first got the news?

It was on the same day as India’s T20 World Cup win and I was watching the match with my son. I was elated, but that could’ve well been more because of India’s win than my nomination. But I think it was a pleasant mix of both.

Though it is India’s official entry at the Oscars, it didn’t do too well back home. Reason?
Maybe the story was too complex. I really don’t know. But it was received well in the West. From the time of Parinda to Eklavya, I’ve never believed in adding ‘commercial aspects’ to my movies just for the sake of it.

I’ve always stayed true to the script. And I was happy with the way Eklavya turned out. I’ve always been proud of my work. It may not have done well back home, but its performance abroad helped me recover my cost and also enjoy a little profit.

What’s the next step? How is lobbying for the Oscars going to be?

I leave tomorrow for the US. I’ll be visiting a lot of cities there. I have a publicist, an agency and a lawyer in place. While promoting Eklavya there, it’ll also be a good time to complete the script I am writing.

Coming to the ‘down’ side of it, you’ve been accused of having rigged the jury and misused your ‘power’. ..

Well, where was my power when Lage Raho and Parineeta released? Was I not ‘powerful’ at that time, and why didn’t I rig the jury then? I don’t know if people are accusing me to piggyback on my success and gain some publicity for themselves or what. But in the process, they are ruining the image of the Indian film industry. This is all so juvenile. It’s like a silly school fight.

What next — what after Eklavya ?

Rajkumar Hirani has completed scripting his film Idiot , which I’ll be producing and Ram Madhvani’s Talisman will be ready to go on floor soon. As far as my directorial venture, give me a couple of months, and I’ll tell you all when the script is completed.