Tabu for Oscars ?

The Oscar fever for Mira Nair’s The Namesake has intensified.

With the event just three months away, Mira and her team are going all out to ensure the much-lauded film’s optimum visibility in LA. And the one nomination that the team is working the hardest for, is Tabu’s.

Regrettably, the stunning actress has entered the Best Supporting Actress category. Explained Mira,
"That’s because Tabu is part of a large ensemble film. But people are knocked out by the maturity of her performance, and they are stunned by her youth and beauty when they meet her. If there’s any justice in the award-getting world, she definitely stands a chance. Irrfan Khan’s nomination as the Best Supporting Actor in the Spirit Awards was a great boost. I also look forward to my writer Sooni Taraporewala being remembered at the Oscars."

Describing her campaign to get high-visibility for The Namesake among the Oscar jury, Mira said from New York, "Our distributor has been doing a modest campaign screening it for all the guilds, academy, etc. And the fact that our DVD released to smashing reviews, has maximised the film’s presence on the airwaves."

But Mira knows it’s an uphill task. "I also know what a battle it is to convince the gora public to vote for a non-gora film and our actors when they’re being inundated with millions of dollars in Oscar campaigns for the known stars there. After all, don’t forget that the Oscars were invented to celebrate Hollywood cinema, and that’s the way it will always be. Sure, some of us get through the radar but it’s essentially a crapshoot."

For the first time a film with a totally Indian theme is being considered in the mainstream categories for the Oscars. "Apun to bilkul desi hai, regardless of whether committees choose my film or not. I believe our distributor is pushing The Namesake in categories beyond Best Foreign Film, which is as it should be," added Mira.

TNN