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All you need to know about Court, India’s entry for the Oscars

All you need to know about Court, India’s entry for the Oscars


For lovers of cinema, 23rd September was a momentous day. The 17-member Film Federation of India (FFI) jury headed by veteran director and actor Amol Palekar was about to announce India’s official entry for the 2016 Oscars. Close to 30 films were in the running.

Social media transformed into a world of speculation, with critics and movie-buffs debating the merits and demerits of all the films in contention and predicting which movie would infact get the distinction of proving its mettle and be selected as the Foreign Film Category at the Oscars. It was really a matter of the right pick.

The favourites were the usual- Masaan, Court, Killa, Kaaka Muttai, and surprisingly even Baahubali. (Though, a majority, including me, fervently wished Baahubali wouldn’t make the cut)

Finally, at 4 pm, the verdict was out.

The film chosen was the multi-lingual dramedy ‘Court,’ helmed by first time director Chaitanya Tamhane and produced by Vivek Gomber (who also acted in the movie)
The unanimous exaltation of ‘Yes, this movie might have a chance’ by movie-buffs, film critics and the general public alike, proved more than anything how deserving of this Court really was.

As Amol Palekar later admitted, the decision to choose Court was unanimous.




And, as India waits until 14 January, 2016 when the Oscar nominees would be out to find out whether or not Court finds a place in the Foreign Film Category, here’s an all you need to know about the film that needs to be watched-

Plot: As the name suggests, Court is centred on a court case against a singer-activist accused of assisting a sewer worker’s suicide. The accused in question also has a reputation of being a thorn in the authorities’ side in the past. Through the case, the film has gives us an insight into the contrasting lives led by the prosecution, defense, judge and finally, the accused.

Critical acclaim: Court released across India on the 17th of April and gained immense critical acclaim, mainly due to its sharp-eyed, satirical screenplay and its painstaking detailing. It recently released in the United States, as well where too critics heaped praise on how the movie lays bare the workings of the Indian bureaucracy,
Awards: As of now, Court has more than 20 awards to its credit, including Best Feature Film at the 62nd Indian National Film Awards this March, the Lion Of The Future and Best Film in the Orrizonti category at last year's Venice International Film Festival. Court thus also holds the record of being an Indian film with the maximum number of awards.

Reaction: Soon after the news broke, the director-producer duo who were in Japan sent across their statement over Whatsapp describing their happiness. It reads as follows-
“At every juncture of the film's journey, we have felt that is has given us more than we could ever imagine. Once again, this has come as a genuine surprise to both Vivek and me. Ever since we started making the film, we kept our expectations low. Especially in this case, since these results tend to be so unpredictable, it just felt like a wise thing to not expect too much. Now that it has actually happened, we would like to thanks the jury for their decision and everyone who has supported the film so far."

A place in history: If Court does manage to garner a nomination in the Foreign Films category at the 88th Academy Awards (of which it has a really good chance), it’ll go down in history as the fourth Indian film to have attained that honour, after Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay! (1988), and Lagaan (2001).
And, if it does manage to win an Oscar in the Foreign Film Category, it’ll be the first Indian film to do so.

The 88th Academy Awards are slated to take place on 28th February, 2016.

For the moment, feast on the film’s trailer-



Image credit: Indiatimes

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