Mayank Shekhar: How to watch the best Indian films?

Producer and director Guillermo del Toro left and producer J Miles Dale with the Oscar for best picture and best director for the film The Shape of Water PicAFPWhich film did you root for at the Oscars Whichever one Im quite certain by dint of equitable distribution that the Academy practised this year ndash The Shape Of Water bagging the bigticket gongs four along with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri two and the technical top prizes pretty much shared between Dunkirk three and Blade Runner 2049 two ndash no one wouldve been sorely disappointed I guess it mustve been the predictability in the announcements that I passed out watching the show early morning although that might be for lack of sleep rather than blandness of ceremony of courseOne huge letdown though Lady Bird picked up nothing That such a selfexpressive personalised work of art even made it to the top speaks volumes for the Oscars already Which film did I pray for knowing that it was never going to win The Post Because Im a journalist also there isnt a film more important for the times we live in So what if it lacked procedural drama Or as a flight of imagination it doesnt compare with the stunning The Shape Of Water or even the darkly delirious Three Billboardshellip for that matterThe Academy hasnt simply honoured achievements in motion pictures and sciences in the past Its inevitably made political statements through its choices Either way Im glad The Post made it to the final few In the same way that it warms the cockles of a desi heart that the Pakistaniborn Kumail Nanjianis The Big Sick picked up the Best Screenplay nomination even if the script seemed only as good as Hasan Minajs standup set on NetflixAnd thats how we love a movie more than others Some just speak to us more directly How does a film get a Best Picture Oscar nomination When 10 per cent of the 8000plus Academy members vote for it as their best film Is it then the best film No Its their favourite film which is what the award should be titled It is this favouritism inherent to the Oscars that the mildly eccentric Woody Allen says he stays away from itNow favouritism is essentially true for any award Are the Oscars different Yes For 90 years theyve often put on pedestal pictures that audiences would not necessarily flock towardsunless guided by global acclaim There is such FOMO associated with the Oscar films that as soon as the nominations are out audiences that would otherwise gravitate towards superhero Marvel or DC universes attain filmbuff cred by catching movies on human exploitation or superhumans who did much for the worldIve spent the past couple of days finding moments in the crevices of time to match the show timings of Oscar nominated films playing at various corners of the city ndash just so I was suitably prepared for the big Monday test I still couldnt catch Darkest Hour which is to say I hadnt covered the basic syllabus Knowing that it was a biopic and the setting was British it was almost obvious the film would pick up the Best Actor statuette It didIs there a formula to an Oscar win Of course No one knew this better than producer Harvey Weinstein whos been thanked the most number of times at the Academy podium ndash only after God This is where he had built his reputation and where that ought to have been buried as well Unlike last year the presenters were surprisingly soft in expressing their anguish whether on MeToo Trump or his immigration debate Either were simply coming to terms with the world and it is what it is or the films speak for themselves Shouting from the top of the Oscar stage is no different from a trending hashtag or a news headline anywayThe Shape Of Water with a Mexican director a physically challenged lead character a gay man and a black woman as the two important supporting parts perhaps expresses a lot more while the film intrinsically argues for the triumph love whether believable or notWhat the Oscars do is incentivise filmmakers to make them This despite the fact that as host Jimmy Kimmel put it Only two out of nine films in the running for Best Picture made more than 100 million Each and every one of which got crushed by Black Panther Top film festivals like Cannes Venice Berlinale have traditionally somewhat done the same to glamourise European offbeat cinema and lift its audiences globally with much less success Imagine if there was a genuine fullon glitzy Oscarlike Indian award show that pitted say for 2017 the astoundingly brilliant Thondimuthalam Driksakshiyum from Kerala against the incredibly minimalist Ribbon from Versova ndash on the basis of sheer cinematic merit rather than popularity or stardom You would be curious enough to watch the best of Indian cinema for the year The film industry would watch an audience grow Thats what awards should do Whats the point otherwiseMayank Shekhar attempts to make sense of mass culture He tweets mayankw14 Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomCatch up on all the latest 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