Oscar nomination from India ‘Court’ courts controversy

HYDERABAD: The Oscar selection is not without controversy even this year too. If in the past, there was a controversy about “The Lunch Box” not being selected as expected, this year’s selection – Marathi film ‘Court’ – has found jury member Rahul Rawail and chairman of the selection committee noted actor Amol Palekar speaking against each other. The Film Federation of India which constitutes the committee to select India’s nomination for the best foreign film category for the Oscars 2016 on Saturday reacted saying Rahul Rawail should not have spoken out.
FFI secretary general Supran Sen said: “While we would not like to comment on Mr. Rawail’s opinions which are his own, what we would have appreciated is a situation where he could have spoken to the FFI President and other senior officials before going to the media.”
READ ALSO: Marathi film 'Court' is India's entry for Oscars
He pointed out that Rawail had, however, mentioned in all his statements that he was very happy with the selection of ‘Court’ and his fellow jury members, `a fact which we appreciate’. “We would like to maintain that all the norms and regulations governing the selection process were followed and the Federation is happy with the process,” he said.
Sen said the selection of ‘Court’ was appreciated in all quarters and the jury was unanimous in its choice. “There have been a few allegations levelled by a senior and highly respected member of our film fraternity Rahul Rawail who unfortunately choose to resign from the jury towards the end of the process citing personal differences. I would also like to make a firm statement that Film Federation of India’s Honorary General Secretary C Kalyan, I in my capacity as Secretary General and our Deputy Secretary Anindya Dasgupta were present during the final proceedings to select India’s entry and we did not see anything amiss in the way it was conducted,” he said.
READ ALSO: Amol Palekar hated 'Court', says Rahul Rawail
It may be mentioned here that Rahul Rawail had quit from the jury just before the last vote was cast for the selection of the film. He alleged that chairman Amol Palekar had shown disinterest in the selection of the movie but finally voted for it. Amol Palekar in a reaction chose not to speak about the selection process but weight his words to convey that he was hurt at what Rahul Rawail had said against him.