BackWill India make history at Oscar 2023? This is the first time there are 3 nominations
Will RRR, All That Breathes, Elephant Whisperers create history at the Oscar 2023?
PremiumIndia’s moment to shine may be at the 95th Academy Awards, as Naatu Naatu, the hit dance track from RRR, All That Breathes and The Elephant Whisperers are up for nominations. It is the first time that India-made productions have earned so many Oscar nominations. The ceremony will be held early Monday morning (India time) at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Naatu Naatu has been shortlisted for Original Song, while All That Breathes is in the running for Documentary Feature and The Elephant Whisperers for Documentary Short. Fans are hopeful that the buzz surrounding these productions will translate into an Oscar win, but even if it doesn’t, India will make its presence felt on stage.
Naatu Naatu composer MM Keeravani and singers Rahul Sipligunj-Kaala Bhairava will perform the song live in true Academy tradition of giving a platform to all five Original Song nominees. Naatu Naatu is competing with Tell It Like a Woman from the movie of the same name, Hold My Hand from Top Gun: Maverick, Lift Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and This Is a Life from Everything Everywhere All at Once.
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Besides the live performances, actor Deepika Padukone will present an award at the ceremony. RRR lead stars Ram Charan and Jr NTR, and director S S Rajamouli will also be in attendance to support their team.
The climate change documentary All That Breathes by Shaunak Sen has already had a successful awards season, and landed an Oscar nomination in the Documentary Feature Film category. Set in Delhi, it follows siblings Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, who have devoted their lives to rescuing and treating injured birds, especially black kites. The documentary is competing alongside All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Fire of Love, A House Made of Splinters and Navalny.
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The Elephant Whisperers is a Netflix documentary that explores the unbreakable bond between an abandoned elephant and their two caretakers. It is competing for the Documentary Short Subject category with Haulout, How Do You Measure a Year?, The Martha Mitchell Effect and Stranger at the Gate. The film, produced by Guneet Monga, marks the debut of Kartiki Gonsalves, who believes that Indian stories have the potential to be recognized in the world.
““I hope we win, and we bring home three Oscars this time. But even if they don’t, just the fact that they have gotten this far means like we are knocking on the doors and those doors will open at some point," producer Siddharth Roy Kapur told PTI.
India has never won an Oscar in the International Film category or the Best Foreign Film as it was known earlier. The last Indian film that made it to the final five nominees at the Oscars was Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan, which lost to No Man’s Land in 2001. However, Indian documentaries have had success at the Oscars in the past, with Smile Pinki and Period. End Of Sentence winning in the Documentary Short category. Monga was the executive producer for Period.
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“There's a big range of stories from across India, which really have the potential of going out to the world and being loved by audiences across the oceans," Monga told PTI.
This year's frontrunner for Best Picture is Michelle Yeoh-starrer multiverse drama Everything Everywhere All At Once. The Academy has invited voting members from film communities around the globe, including a number of talented cinema artistes from India. More than 9,000 members have cast their votes for the Oscars.
(With PTI inputs)
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