‘RDB’ heads to the Oscar’s

It official now. ‘Rang De Basanti’ has been chosen as India’s entry for the Oscars by the Film Federation of India (FFI). Filmmaker Basu Chatterjee, who chaired the jury, made the formal announcement yesterday evening.

“We are all very, very happy,” said an elated UTV CEO Ronnie Screwvala. “I am sure the jury had a tough time making the decision but we are all very glad that it has happened.” ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’, ‘Omkara’ ‘Krrish’ and ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’, ‘Corporate’ and ‘Yun Hota to Kya Hota’ are some of the films that were also in contention.

Screwvala made it clear that UTV would go the whole hog to make sure that the film gets a level playing field in the final round. “I think Aamir has lots of experience having been there five years ago with ‘Lagaan’. So we are definitely going to use his knowledge. Moreover, we have Disney as our world partner and we have a special relationship with 20th Century Fox. So, we are going to pull out all stops. The competition is going to be interesting because we will be competing against some exceptional films in the best foreign film category.”

In fact director Rakeysh Mehra, who was recently in the US to meet renowned scriptwriter Syd Field, is going to help the makers give the final cut of the film for international audiences. The makers are also aiming to give RDB a mainline release in the US between December and February, and have enlisted the help of two major studios. The film has even inspired a TV news channel in Pakistan called ‘Awaz’.

r_faheem@dnaindia.net