Priyadarshan hopeful about Sila Samayangalil

Director Priyadarshan’s Tamil film

Sila Samayangalil

was screened for the

Golden Globe

Awards’ jury in Los Angeles on October 7.

And the response of the jury has been “highly encouraging”, says the filmmaker.
The film was one of the two Indian films to be screened for final official selection for nomination, the other being Bajirao Mastani.
The movie, which is based on AIDS awareness has eight major characters, who are seen waiting for their HIV blood test results. The actors include Prakash Raj, Ashok Selvan and Shriya Saran.
The movie is a step away from making it to the final six nominees for the Golden Globes, which will be announced on December 12.
“Around 600 films from around the world are shortlisted, out of which 15 are screened for the jury at a theatre in Los Angeles. The jury watch the DVDS of another 15,” says Priyadarshan, describing the movie’s entry a “proud moment in his career”.

The director seems to have been impressed by the process behind the selection. “Among the audience were six BAFTA members, eight Oscar members and 26 members from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. So Prakash, Ashok and I got to meet a lot of people and interact with them,” says Priyadarshan.

However, the process of judging didn’t end after the screening, he adds. “The after party was not a let-your-hair-down affair as we imagined, but more of a grilling session. The jury members were seated around tables. We were all called to each one of them and asked questions about the movie. The purpose was to clarify every doubt they had about the relevance of a scene to the Indian culture, before they voted.”
Thus the trio were called to six tables and asked different questions. “It’s an amazing way to decide a nomination. A common question was why the gay character in the film was presented in a subtle manner. I explained to them that homosexuality is not readily accepted in our country and showing it in a blunt manner would have made it difficult for our audience to digest it,” he says. “The response from the members was extremely encouraging. We are all keeping our fingers crossed now.”