India's 'Village Rockstars' out of Oscars race, nine films advance to next stage
Los Angeles, Dec 18 : "Village Rockstars", India's official entry to the 91st Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Film category, is no longer a part of the Oscars race, with only nine films out of 87 making it to the next round of voting.
Directed by Rima Das, the Assamese feature, revolved around a group of village children aspiring to become rockstars.
India has so far drawn a blank in the Best Foreign Film category. The last Indian film that made it to the final five in the list was Ashutosh Gowariker's "Lagaan" in 2001.
"Mother India" (1958) and "Salaam Bombay" (1989) are the other two Indian movies to have made it to the top five.
Oscar-winner Alfonso Cuaron's universally-loved, semi-biographical, black-and-white drama "Roma" is in the list alongside eight other films.
"Roma", which is generating a lot of awards buzz and may also earn nominations in the best film category if critics are to be believed, will face tough competition from previous Oscar-winner Pawel Pawlikowski's "Cold War". He had won the Oscar for his 2013 film "Ida"
Japan's "Shoplifters", for which director Hirokazu Kore-eda won the Palm d'Or, and Lebanon's "Capernaum", which won the jury prize, can also be called frontrunners for the recognition.
Other films in the list are "Birds of Passage" from Colombia, "The Guilty" from Denmark, "Never Look Away" from Germany, Kazakhstan's "Ayka" and South Korea's Burning .
Academy members from all branches screened the original submissions in the category between mid-October and December 10.
The group's top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy's Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist. Academy members eligible to participate in the Nominations round of voting will view the shortlisted films. Members must see all nine films before casting their ballots.
The 91st Oscar Awards will be held on February 24, Sunday, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
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If Rohit is not playing in first Test, Bumrah should captain India for entire Aus tour: Gavaskar
New Delhi: The legendary Sunil Gavaskar on Monday said that if India captain Rohit Sharma is not playing in the first Test against Australia in the upcoming marquee series, then Jasprit Bumrah should lead the side for the entire tour Down Under.
He said Rohit, whenever he comes in, should participate in the series only as a player.
The Australia tour for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins on November 22 in Perth, and Rohit is likely to miss the first match as his wife is expecting their second child. He is expected to join the team from the second game of the series.
Rohit is, however, not sure about the schedule yet.
In the absence of Rohit, Bumrah is likely to captain the team in Perth.
"It is important for the captain to play the first Test match. It's different if he is injured, but if he is not available, then the deputy leader will be under a lot of pressure," Gavaskar said on Sports Tak.
"I have been reading that Rohit Sharma might not play the first two Tests of the Australia series. I feel that, in that case the selection committee should appoint Jasprit Bumrah the captain of the side for the entire Australia tour, and tell Rohit Sharma that you will participate as a player in this series. For the first Test match, Rohit Sharma has to be there."
Rohit has been in terrible form of late as he has scored less than 100 runs in the three Tests against New Zealand at home.
The Indian team needs four wins from the five Tests in Australia to qualify for the World Test Championship Final.
Gavaskar said India cannot qualify for the WTC final from here.
"No, I don't. I actually dont. India cannot beat Australia 4-0 in the Test series. I'd be very, very I'd be over the moon. If they do that, I would be over the moon if they do that. But 4-0.
"India can win 3-1, 4-0 is... don't talk about the World Test Championship final. Now just focus on trying to win the series in Australia. Never mind whether you win 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 3-1, 2-1. But go and win. Because that is how all of us Indian cricket fans are going to be back to feeling good again," Gavaskar said.
Asked if the clock is ticking for Rohit and Virat Kohli, he said, "It's ticking for everybody. It's not just them. But, because they are in their 30s, mid-30s, it will be tougher for them than the guys in the early 20s or early 30s.
"But the clock is ticking for everybody. Which is why I say, the more you are playing, the more you will be prepared to meet the demands of modern-day cricket.
"Totally understandable . This is one of those rare series where both of them have not been able to score runs. Don't forget, Kohli got a 70 in the second innings in Bengaluru. It's just one of those rarities where both these stalwarts have not been able to make significant contributions," he added.
He said a bad patch happens with everyone and how the player comes back from that phase will tell how good he is.
"What we are going to see in Australia is really going to be interesting. What we are going to see in Australia will determine the future of the Test team.
"Definitely yes. If they don't score runs in Australia, there will be a clamour for a new-look Indian team to start from the tour of England," he added.
Asked to review Gautam Gambhir's brief stint as the head coach, Gavaskar said the numbers tell the story.
"The results speak for themselves. Even in Sri Lanka, India lost an ODI series after a long time. And now here, it's a loss, it's a terrible loss. So, I think the results speak for themselves," he said.
