As October 1, the deadline for submitting entries for the foreign film category Oscar nears, the Film Federation of India (FFI) has put in motion the process to pick the film that will officially represent India at the 89th Academy Awards next year.
<img title="Ketan Mehta a still from his last film, Manjhi: The Mountain Ma" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/aug/23Ketan-Mehta-1.jpg" alt="Ketan Mehta a still from his last film, Manjhi: The Mountain Man" /> Ketan Mehta a still from his last film, 'Manjhi: The Mountain Man'
Director Ketan Mehta has been approached to head the 17-member jury that comprises technicians and artistes from within the film industry. According to sources at the FFI, Mehta has verbally agreed to take up the coveted job. When contacted, Mehta told hitlist, "I can't say anything until I have it formally in writing".
Last year, the FFI jury that sent Chaitanya Tamhane's Court to Los Angeles was headed by actor-filmmaker Amol Palekar.
<img title="Amol Palekar, who led the jury in 2015" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/aug/23Amol-Palekar-1.jpg" alt="Amol Palekar, who led the jury in 2015" /> Amol Palekar, who led the jury in 2015
While India's hit rate at the Oscars has been abysmal since the foreign films' category was introduced in 1956 (see box), the Indian entry has often generated controversy, largely owing to the choice of film itself.
Indian picks for the Academy Awards in the past have included 'Indian' (1996) and 'Jeans' (1998). In 2007, the FFI, which is a film industry body authorised to send India's foreign film entry to the Academy, was dragged to court on charges of favouritism over Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 'Eklavya: The Royal Guard'.
<img title="'Manjhi: The Mountain Man'" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/aug/23Mountain-Man-1.jpg" alt="'Manjhi: The Mountain Man'" /> 'Manjhi: The Mountain Man'
More recently, the vote for Anurag Basu's 'Barfi' (2012) was widely contested on social media, mainly for several scenes that were plagiarised or "inspired" from diverse sources in the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer.

'Manjhi' director Ketan Mehta has been approached by FFI to head 17-member jury to pick the film that will officially represent India at the 89th Academy Awards

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'Manjhi' director Ketan Mehta has been approached by FFI to head 17-member jury to pick the film that will officially represent India at the 89th Academy Awards

Ketan Mehta to pick India's Oscar entry

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Ketan Mehta to pick India's Oscar entry

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