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Has Bollywood finally arrived? Take a look at the Indian connection at this year's Oscars
TAGS:Oscars|85th Academy Awards|Oscars 2013|Oscars 2013 nominations|Anupam Kher|Bombay Jayashri|Suraj Sharma|Anil Ambani|Life Of Pi
Life of Pi has been nominated in 11 categories for Oscars.
Among the most prominent Indian nominees is Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri, whose Lullaby song in Ang Lee'sLife Of Pihas been nominated for Best Original Song. The film itself is a frontrunner with 11 nominations. Lead actors of the film Suraj Sharma and Irrfan are scheduled to be at Lee's side during the ceremony.
Steven Spielberg's Lincoln has bagged 12 nominations. The Indian connect for the film lies in the fact that it has been co-produced by Reliance-DreamWorks studio, the Reliance half of the partnership being owned by Anil Ambani. Ambani himself has flown to Los Angeles to be part of the ceremony along with his partner Spielberg.
Anupam Kher may have missed out on a nomination but he plays a pivotal role in David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook, which has bagged eight nominations. Kher has flown to Los Angeles to walk the red carpet with the film's stars, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro.
Jayashri who sang Pi's Lullaby, has been nominated in the Best Original Song category along with composer Mychael Danna, and has raised the hope of yet another Oscar win in recent years for India after A.R. Rahman, Gulzar and Resul Pookutty brought home the coveted trophy for Slumdog Millionaire. Jayashri, in her interview to Mail Today soon after the announcement of Oscar nominations in January, had said she wasn't thinking of the ceremony. "I have been taking each moment as it comes and enjoying it to the hilt. I am not thinking that far," she had said.
On the red carpet
Suraj, who earlier walked the red carpet in a dapper black tuxedo along with Tabu and Ang Lee at the Golden Globes for Life Of Pi, will attend the Oscars with Irrfan, his Indian co-actor in the film. Another Indian film with an Indian connect is Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty. The film has interested the Indian audience because major portions were shot in Chandigarh and Rajasthan. Bigelow recreated the Pakistani town of Abbottabad, Osama bin laden's hideout in his last days, in India.
While for Ambani and his wife Tina, walking the red carpet is not new. They attended the 84th Annual Academy Awards representing Reliance-Dream-Works because three of their productions - The Help, War Horse and Real Steel - were nominated in various categories that year.
India's Oscars connect has grown over the past decade despite the fact that Indian films have always missed the mark in the Best Foreign Film category. In 1957, Mehboob Khan's Mother India was the first official nomination for the Best Foreign Film category. The film failed to win and stories did the rounds that Khan felt sufficient marketing would have helped the film get better attention at the Oscars. In 1988, Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay was the second Indian film to be nominated in the Best Foreign Film category. In 2002, Aamir Khan and Ashutosh Gowarikar attended the Oscars representing their film Lagaan.
Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya was the first Indian to have won an Oscar.
She won the Best Costume Design award with John Mollo for Richard Attenborough's 1982 film, Gandhi, which won eight Oscars. Satyajit Ray received an honorary award for Lifetime Achievement in Cinema in 1991 a few weeks before his death. Ray could not attend the ceremony because he was ill and Audrey Hepburn flew down to Kolkata to give him the award. He gave his acceptance speech via live video feed.
They are attending!
Suraj Sharma
A 19-year-old St Stephen's student, Suraj (R) was picked by Ang Lee from a crowd of 3,000-odd aspirants at the auditions.
The Stephanian is not nominated in the Best Actor category for his role of Pi Patel in Life of Pi, but he will still be walking the red carpet at the Academy Awards gala along with the cast of the film, including Bollywood actor Irrfan.
Anupam Kher
He plays a small but pivotal role (R) in David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook, which has bagged eight nominations. Kher will be attending the do along with Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro.
He has also been invited for the Weinstein Company's annual Oscar Nominees Dinner. Later, he plans to organise an exclusive screening of his short film, I Went Shopping For Robert De Niro.
A Carnatic singer from Chennai, she has been nominated for the Best Original Song for the Tamil number, Pi's Lullaby, which was a highlight track in Ang Lee's film Life Of Pi. Jayashri's lullaby, picturised on Tabu, highlights the mood, 'A child sleeps not because he is sleepy but because he feels safe'. Jayashri (R) has flown to LA to attend the ceremony.
Anil Ambani's Reliance Entertainment holds 51% share in Reliance-DreamWorks, the banner that has co-produced Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, which is nominated in 12 categories.
A biopic on American President Abraham Lincoln, the film is tipped to win Best Actor for Daniel Day Lewis. Anil Ambani will be present with wife Tina and director Steven Spielberg, besides the cast and crew of the film.
Steven Spielberg's Lincoln has bagged 12 nominations. The Indian connect for the film lies in the fact that it has been co-produced by Reliance-DreamWorks studio, the Reliance half of the partnership being owned by Anil Ambani. Ambani himself has flown to Los Angeles to be part of the ceremony along with his partner Spielberg.
Anupam Kher may have missed out on a nomination but he plays a pivotal role in David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook, which has bagged eight nominations. Kher has flown to Los Angeles to walk the red carpet with the film's stars, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro.
Jayashri who sang Pi's Lullaby, has been nominated in the Best Original Song category along with composer Mychael Danna, and has raised the hope of yet another Oscar win in recent years for India after A.R. Rahman, Gulzar and Resul Pookutty brought home the coveted trophy for Slumdog Millionaire. Jayashri, in her interview to Mail Today soon after the announcement of Oscar nominations in January, had said she wasn't thinking of the ceremony. "I have been taking each moment as it comes and enjoying it to the hilt. I am not thinking that far," she had said.
On the red carpet
Suraj, who earlier walked the red carpet in a dapper black tuxedo along with Tabu and Ang Lee at the Golden Globes for Life Of Pi, will attend the Oscars with Irrfan, his Indian co-actor in the film. Another Indian film with an Indian connect is Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty. The film has interested the Indian audience because major portions were shot in Chandigarh and Rajasthan. Bigelow recreated the Pakistani town of Abbottabad, Osama bin laden's hideout in his last days, in India.
While for Ambani and his wife Tina, walking the red carpet is not new. They attended the 84th Annual Academy Awards representing Reliance-Dream-Works because three of their productions - The Help, War Horse and Real Steel - were nominated in various categories that year.
India's Oscars connect has grown over the past decade despite the fact that Indian films have always missed the mark in the Best Foreign Film category. In 1957, Mehboob Khan's Mother India was the first official nomination for the Best Foreign Film category. The film failed to win and stories did the rounds that Khan felt sufficient marketing would have helped the film get better attention at the Oscars. In 1988, Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay was the second Indian film to be nominated in the Best Foreign Film category. In 2002, Aamir Khan and Ashutosh Gowarikar attended the Oscars representing their film Lagaan.
Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya was the first Indian to have won an Oscar.
She won the Best Costume Design award with John Mollo for Richard Attenborough's 1982 film, Gandhi, which won eight Oscars. Satyajit Ray received an honorary award for Lifetime Achievement in Cinema in 1991 a few weeks before his death. Ray could not attend the ceremony because he was ill and Audrey Hepburn flew down to Kolkata to give him the award. He gave his acceptance speech via live video feed.
They are attending!
Suraj Sharma
A 19-year-old St Stephen's student, Suraj (R) was picked by Ang Lee from a crowd of 3,000-odd aspirants at the auditions.
The Stephanian is not nominated in the Best Actor category for his role of Pi Patel in Life of Pi, but he will still be walking the red carpet at the Academy Awards gala along with the cast of the film, including Bollywood actor Irrfan.
Anupam Kher
He plays a small but pivotal role (R) in David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook, which has bagged eight nominations. Kher will be attending the do along with Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro.
He has also been invited for the Weinstein Company's annual Oscar Nominees Dinner. Later, he plans to organise an exclusive screening of his short film, I Went Shopping For Robert De Niro.
A Carnatic singer from Chennai, she has been nominated for the Best Original Song for the Tamil number, Pi's Lullaby, which was a highlight track in Ang Lee's film Life Of Pi. Jayashri's lullaby, picturised on Tabu, highlights the mood, 'A child sleeps not because he is sleepy but because he feels safe'. Jayashri (R) has flown to LA to attend the ceremony.
Anil and Tina Ambani
Anil Ambani's Reliance Entertainment holds 51% share in Reliance-DreamWorks, the banner that has co-produced Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, which is nominated in 12 categories.
A biopic on American President Abraham Lincoln, the film is tipped to win Best Actor for Daniel Day Lewis. Anil Ambani will be present with wife Tina and director Steven Spielberg, besides the cast and crew of the film.
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