Kamal Haasan's upcoming film "Vishwaroopam", which was short-listed for India's Oscar nomination, missed the race by a few votes, according to a report by Indiaglitz.
Every year, India sends its best film as an Oscar entry in the Best Foreign Film category. Gujarati film "The Good Road" has been chosen as the country's choice for the Oscars next year.
"The Good Road", a story about parents' search for their missing boy, faced strong competition from other nominated films including Irrfan Khan's "The Lunch Box", Kamal Haasan's "Vishwaroopam", Sridevi's "English Vinglish", Farhan Akhtar's "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" and Malayalam film "Celluloid".
The 19-member jury unanimously selected "The Good Road" as India's entry for the Oscars. "There were 22 entries from different parts of India for consideration this year. Films like 'The Lunchbox', 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' and 'Vishwaroopam' were short-listed but it was an unanimous decision by the 19-member jury to select 'The Good Road', In fact, 'The Lunchbox' was a very strong contender," Gautam Ghosh, chairman of Oscar selection committee of Film Federation of India, told the Press Trust India.
Buzz is that "Vishwaroopam" also gave stiff competition to "The Good Road" and the film missed the Oscar race only by a few votes. The spy thriller was mired in controversies that delayed its release in Tamil Nadu by two weeks. The film hit the screens after Kamal reached out a compromise with certain Muslim groups, who had claimed that the film portrayed their religion in poor light.
Despite a delayed release, "Vishwaroopam" went on to become a big hit in India as well as in overseas markets. The film reportedly raked in more than ₹200 crore at the worldwide box office. It has also bagged National awards in two categories - best production design (Boontawee 'Thor' Taweepasas and Lalgudi N. Ilayaraja) and best choreography award for Pandit Birju Maharaj.
It would have been big honour for the Tamil film indistry if "Vishwaroopam" made it to the Oscars. Nevertheless, Kamal is known to make films of international standards and we hope "Vishwaroopam 2" will gain enough recognition as the first part.
