10 films that India sent to the Oscars in a decade
Tamil thriller ‘Visaranai’ has been selected as India’s official entry to the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2017 Academy Awards. The Film Federation of India’s jury, headed by filmmaker Ketan Mehta, picked up Vetrimaaran’s film from among 29 movies.
It is reported that Kannada movie Thithi, Sonam Kapoor’s Neerja, Ashwin Iyer Tiwary’s Nil Battey Sannata, Shahid Kapoor’s Udta Punjab and Marathi film Sairaat were the strong contenders, which lost the race to Visaranai in the final lap.
Visaranai is not a regular commercial movie but a film that shows harsh realities of life. The movie narrates the story of M Chandrakumar, a Coimbatore-based author and autorickshaw driver, who shares his experience after he and three of his friends are arrested on false charges.
The four innocent labourers are forced through physical and mental torture to confess a high-profile robbery in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. The reluctant boys remain strong despite undergoing third-grade treatment by cops. But luck turns in their favour and they escape from the case to land in major trap laid by the Tamil Nadu cops. The remaining part highlights how injustice is meted out to them.
Visaranai received praises from superstar Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. It has also won appreciation at international film festivals. The Tamil movie won prestigious National Awards in categories like Best Feature Film in Tamil, Best Supporting Actor - Samuthirakani and Best Editing - Kishore Te.
From Rang De Basanti to Visaranai, here is a look at India’s journey at the Oscars in the last decade:
(Story – IBT; Images – Getty, Movie Talkies)
