Next decade is going to be India's: Siddharth Roy Kapur on global presence of Indian content

The last few years were dominated by the South Korean wave with their music, cinema and shows transcending borders, and Indian content will reach the same heights in the coming decade, believes producer Siddharth Roy Kapur. With India being nominated in three categories at the 95th Academy Awards --- Original Song, Documentary Feature and Documentary Short-- Roy Kapur is optimistic that India is ready to take over the world with its rich storytelling.


"Our time will come. I think the next decade is going to be India's decade, the last decade was South Korean decade, with their music and movies, their food, and their pop culture really breaking through the world. I think the next decade will be India's," the producer told a media in a virtual interview.

At the Oscars, scheduled to take place on March 12, Telugu track "Naatu Naatu" from SS Rajamouli's period blockbuster "RRR" is the frontrunner in the Original Song category.

Shaunak Sen's "All That Breathes" is nominated for Documentary Feature award, while Guneet Monga-backed "The Elephant Whisperers" is competing in the Documentary Short category.

Roy Kapur said he is hopeful that Indian films will register multiple wins at this year's Oscars.

"I hope all three of them make it. I hope we win, and we bring home three Oscars this time. But even if they don't, just the fact that they have gotten this far means like we are knocking on the doors and those doors will open at some point," he said.

Streaming platforms have played a pivotal role in popularising Indian cinema and shows through its wide reach, the producer added.

"Overall we are knocking on the doors, at the Academy, (Golden) Globes, at the Baftas. In all the international spaces, our movies and TV shows are now breaking through and for that I need to give credit to streaming platforms because they have managed to be able to take our content so far and wide, which earlier we would struggle with," he said.

Roy Kapur, known for backing diverse movies such as "Dev D", "The Lunchbox", "Dangal" and "The Sky Is Pink", said he is delighted with the love that his team received for "Chhello Show" ('Last Film Show'), which was India's official entry for Oscars 2023.

Directed by Pan Nalin and produced by Roy Kapur and Dheer Momaya, the Gujarati language film is a coming-of-age story of a young boy's love affair with cinema in a Saurashtra village.

Only three Indian films in Oscars history have found mention in the top five of the international film (formerly called foreign language) category: "Lagaan" (2001), "Salaam Bombay!" (1988), and "Mother India" (1957).

"Chhello Show" couldn't reach the top five in the category, but the Oscars campaign was a learning experience, Roy Kapur said.

"There are huge learnings in terms of what one should be doing when it comes to taking your film forward as a nominee for the Academy Awards. The team did an incredible job and I am really proud of them," he added.

The upcoming Academy Awards will be held on March 12 at Los Angeles' Dolly Theatre, where Bollywood star Deepika Padukone will be presenting an award.
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