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Oscar panel in Hyderabad for film selection

The committee will have to choose from 45 films this time

The Indian jury to select the country’s official entry to the Oscars 2016, helmed by chairperson Amol Palekar, will meet in Hyderabad to decide which film from 2015 goes to the Oscars. This is the fourth year in a row when Hyderabad has been chosen as the venue for the proceedings. According to sources, Hyderabad is likely to remain the hub of Oscar activity in the coming years.

The Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce is providing all facilities for the Film Federation of India committee to choose the film that will go to the Oscars. Anindya Dasgupta, deputy secretary of Film Federation of India, says, “The chamber has been very supportive and we find Hyderabad a good venue.”

The committee will have to choose from 45 films this time. “The committee will view all the films. However, we don’t know when the shortlisted films will be announced. It would take time for the committee if more films come in,” said Anindya. The tentative date of the announcement, however, is September 25.

Heavy lobbying for Bollywood films?

“The jury to select the Indian entry to the Oscars is put under tremendous pressure in Mumbai to select a Bollywood film. This year too there is heavy lobbying for films like Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider, Anurag Kashyap’s Ugly, Raj Kumar Hirani’s PK and Omang Kumar’s Mary Kom as Indian’s Oscar entry. To avoid being ‘Bollywoodised’ the Oscar committee has moved from Mumbai to Hyderabad, far from the madding crowd of lobbyists.

In Hyderabad they hope to look at films in every Indian language impartially before selecting the film that will represent us at the Oscars this year,” says a source close to the Oscar jury. Besides the distinguished Amol Palekar, the other jury members this year include filmmaker Rahul Rawail, writer Abbas Tyrewala and Gujarati actor-politician Naresh Kanodia.

( Source : deccan chronicle )
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