Mrinal Sen shows no ‘interest or curiosity’ about being invited to Oscar committee

KOLKATA: The

Academy of Motion Picture

, Arts and Sciences has invited 14

Indian actors

and technicians to be a part of it. Veteran film-maker Mrinal Sen is among the list of Indian personalities invited to be a part of the committee.

At 94, Sen is one year younger than the oldest invitee- American actress Betty White. When TOI asked the director’s son Kunal about the director’s reaction to the Oscar invitation, he said, “I have mentioned it to him. He didn’t show any interest or curiosity. He doesn’t watch films any more. So, it makes little difference. Even when he was active, he showed no interest in the Oscars. He had very little interest in the type of films that compete for it, and he didn’t even watch too many Hollywood productions. Therefore, I doubt he would have been too involved even if it happened years ago.”

Incidentally, Sen has once famously said “Oscars don’t make ‘

Slumdog Millionaire

’ a great film”. “I don’t know about that. But I am not doubting it. Seeing that film, I can imagine he wouldn’t have liked it. The same goes for 90% of other Oscar winning films,” Kunal said.

Insisting that his father had “very little respect for most of the Oscar winning films”, Kunal added, “Those are not the kind of films he cared about. He preferred more serious films, and not the crowd-pleasing films that Oscars generally leans towards.” On being asked if his father’s films were ever sent to the Oscars, Kunal said, “He preferred the European festivals. So, I don’t think he would have considered it, and I am not aware of any of his producers who did it either."