Court is a small budget film with no big-name actors.
By Dileep Thekkethil
Ending all speculations about India’s official entry to the Oscars for this year, Court, a multi-lingual movie written and directed by debutant Chaitanya Tamhane, has been selected to represent the country in the best foreign language category at The Academy Awards.
Earlier, million dollar movies like “PK”, “Baahubali” “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” and “Haider” were rumored as India’s official entry to the Oscars, but the 17-member committee headed by veteran director Amol Palekar selected “Court” from 30 odd movies which were in the race.
“Court” is a movie that talks in detail about India’s judicial system. The protagonist, who is a social activist in his sixties who propagate ideas through folk music, is arrested and charged for provoking a sewage worker to commit suicide. The movie unfolds as the lawyers from both ends try to prove their point, which underlines the everyday courtroom experience that at times cause misery and defencelessness in people as the judicial system fails to undo with the archaic laws.
The film, written and directed by Chaitanya Tamhane has actors Vira Sathidar, Vivek Gomber, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Pradeep Joshi, Usha Bane and Shirish Pawar appearing in prominent roles. The movie was produced by Vivek Gomber himself with music and cinematography done by Sambhaji Bhagat and Mrinal Desai, respectively.
Talking to the media after the announcement, Chaitanya Tamhane couldn’t hold back his excitement. He said that the selection came as a surprise not only to him but also for the producer Vivek Gombar. He also said that not even once have they kept high expectations from the film but since the release “Court” has been giving surprises much beyond what they can expect.
“Court” was released only in a few theaters in India on April 17, 2015, but the movie garnered audience after it received critical acclamations in national and international film festivals. “Court” has won more than 20 national and international awards and this includes the award for Best Feature Film at the 62nd National Film Awards, 2015.
Earlier during the day, media speculations were all around Baahubali and Bajrangi Bhaijaan making it into Oscars. Baahubali, an epic movie directed by Rajamouli is touted as India’s most expensive movie with a budget of approximately Rs 250 crore. On the other hand Salman Khan starring Bajrangi Bhaijaan, directed by Kabir Khan, is a movie that depicts the magnanimity of an ordinary man who helps a mute Pakistani girl to return home.
Even though “Court” is not a movie that glorifies the nation, this realistic courtroom drama, made on a budget of Rs 3.5 crore, is closer to truth encountered by common man in everyday life and the selection of it to the Oscar is a commendable achievement for crew members of the movie.
Later during the day, Bollywood director Rahul Rawail, who was part of the 17 member jury resigned following differences with chairperson Amol Paleka. Even though he said his quitting is not directly linked to the selection of Court, he said Amol’s general conduction of proceedings was often manipulative.
“I’ve been hearing that people feel that I was not happy with Court being selected. It is false. I am very happy with Court and I’m proud of it,” he said.
He also added “I’m proud that we had a great jury and some wonderful people who have a great knowledge of cinema and love for it. There was no issue in that, but yes there was one manipulative man. His name is Amol Palekar, who is the chairman of the jury. He is a complete manipulative person.”
“It is not that he manipulated for Court. People are saying that Amol must have manipulated for Court because Court is a Marathi film. That is wrong. His (Amol’s) general conduction of proceedings was often manipulative,” he said.