Aamir Khan shared with him the phone numbers of his friends in Los Angeles and Ashutosh Gowariker gave him a three-hour lowdown on canvassing at the Oscars, based on his Lagaan experience in Hollywood last year. We’re talking about Sandeep Sawant, the director of Marathi film Shwaas, who leaves for the US tonight to begin pre-Academy Award promotions for his film.‘‘It will be a whole new environment with strange faces,’’ said 37-year-old Sawant. Shwaas, which has been produced by eight people, is based on the life of a visually impaired boy and his grandfather.‘‘The most important thing is to get as many people as possible to watch the film there,’’ said Khan who spoke to Sawant over the phone. ‘‘Ashutosh explained screening is one of the biggest challenges,’’ added Sawant. In fact, just six people turned up for Lagaan’s first screening at the Sony Lot in Hollywood.Another important guideline offered by Gowariker was to grab advertorial material (read full page ads) in leading Hollywood film magazines since ads are booked as early as three months in advance. ‘‘It’s a Catch 22 situation. Since we can’t contact the members directly and tell them about the film, we indirectly create a wave,’’ said Gowariker, who organised six screenings and managed to place ads in Variety and L.A. Weekly.‘‘I feel we did our best, but could have done with more time at hand for the canvassing,’’ says Gowariker. Sawant has been communicating with Maharashtra mandals all over the US over the Internet for support. ‘‘We also plan to hire a promotion agency within a week after reaching LA.’’ Though Khan and Gowariker are yet to catch the film, they are both gung ho about its entry at the Academy Awards.
