Here's all You Need to Know About the Indian Names Embellishing the Oscars This Year India's "Village Rockstars", "What People Will Say?", a Norwegian production and India-Bangladesh co-produced Irfan Khan starrer "Doob" make it to Oscars as official entries
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While one is a soulful story of a village girl, the other, an Irfan Khan starrer, Doob and Adil Hussain starrer, What People Will Say?, traces the complexity of human life and human relationships. Doob-No Bed of Roses was selected by Bangladesh Oscar committee as the country's official entry for the celebrated Academy Awards. Village Rockstars, directed by Rima Das was selected as India's official entry for Oscars.
Not an Ordinary Film
Doob is a dark, intense film and has impassioned performances by Irfan Khan, Nusrat Imrose Tisha and Rockeya Prachi. Doob is also co-produced by Khan who stars as a film maker entangled in crisis of existence and relationships. The sombre yet sharp and soul penetrating music works wonders for the film.
It released in Bangladesh in October 2017 in Bangladesh, France, Australia and India after a fierce battle with the authorities. The film was initially banned on the grounds of it being based on the life of a film maker who divorced his wife of 27 years and married a 33 years younger actress. The film became a source of national scandal, questioning and toppling the very foundation of the existing norms and morals. Eventually, the ban was lifted and the movie went on to do wonders for itself and the actors.
Rockstars From the Roots
Village Rockstars, will be contesting for the Academy Awards' Best Film in the Foreign Category representing India. A film in Assamese language, it endeavours to question the political and social aspects of the society. It is about a girl, Dhunu, who amidst earth-shattering realities of life dreams of owning a guitar. "I will have a real guitar soon" is what Dhunu holds on to and also what keeps her going. The film also brings the gender debate into light. Dhunu is the only girl in her group of her friends consisting of only boys. She is, quite expectedly, questioned and scolded for doing some so-called masculine activities such as, climbing trees with boys. Serious issues such as natural calamities and lack of infrastructure very subtly pop in the film as the plot proceeds. For instance, in one scene Dhunu points out that she lost her father because there was no embankment at that time.
The Content is the Protagonist
Adil Hussain starrer What People Will Say? is India's advent with the Norwegian cinema. It traces the dual life of a teen trying to balance her Norwegian and Pakistani identity. Certain turn in events makes her world fall apart and she is left grappling with questions related to what she is and what her family expects her to be.
Both these films are content-driven. Moreover, an uncanny similarity between the two is that both films question some very fundamental issues of the society that have been embedded and one may feel very helpless towards them.
