Oscar fever rages on

NIKITA DOVAL / TNN / Feb 15, 2006, 19:56 IST

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Get ready for real action - Oscar-nominated films are coming to town in March.

Get ready for real action �� Oscar-nominated films are coming to town in March.
Film buffs rejoice! March is going to be amongst the most defining months of movie releases in India, considering that not one, not two, but four Oscar nominated films are being released simultaneously.
If last year, Million Dollar Baby made it weeks after sweeping the Oscars while Sideways and Motorcycle Diaries did not even manage a release, this year Brokeback Mountain, Transamerica, Capote, Munich and North Country are all making their way here.
"There is a lot of buzz around Brokeback Mountain and Transamerica with several enquiries coming in daily," informs Saurabh Varma of PVR. "These films have not just a niche but a definite market here.

And if they manage to win the Oscars, then the interest is buoyed further and ticket sales shoot up," he adds.
A case in point being blockbusters like Chicago and Lord of the Rings, which were doing good business on their own but saw a rise in ticket sales after their sweep at the awards.
Films like Syriana, Pride & Prejudice, Crash, Memoirs of a Geisha, which also feature in the nominations list, however, have a head start over their counterparts, seeing that they will be released in India in February itself.

"With Oscar nominations, there are expectations from a film and there is a tendency to play up the hype on the part of the distributors.
People feel that even if the film might not have big names, it will still be worthwhile," says a Delhi-based Hollywood studio executive.
But while angrezi film fans will have plenty to pick and choose from, March promises to be a lean month for Bollywood.
With exam fever catching up, the number of releases has drastically fallen with the Sohail Khan starrer Aryan and Priyadarshan's Malamaal Weekly being the important releases.
"March and April are slow months because of the exams. Movie going is still a family exercise in several parts of India and people don't venture out, so releases are timed for the summer months.
That is when the crowds really return to the theatres," informs trade analyst Taran Adarsh. Adds distributor Sanjay Mehta, "Since Hindi film releases are slow in this period, the presence of Oscar nominated films makes up for any vacuum that might be there."

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