Picking Eklavya for Oscars seems biased, says High Court

Responding to a petition filed against the official entry of Eklavya-The Royal Guard in the Oscars by the Film Federation of India (FFI),

Responding to a petition filed against the official entry of Eklavya-The Royal Guard in the Oscars by the Film Federation of India (FFI), a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court observed on Saturday that “prima facie there appears to be some merit in the argument”. The court has asked the FFI, producer-director of the film Vidhu Vinod Chopra and jury members Sudhir Mishra and Ranjit Bahadur to file affidavits by October 10, which is the next date of hearing.

Bhavna Talvar who has directed Dharm (starring Pankaj Kapoor), moved the High Court against the FFI and the jury for choosing the

Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt-starrer on September 24 as the country’s official entry for the Academy Awards. According to the petition, Dharm received critical acclaim in several prestigious international film festivals, including Cannes.

Observing that there is “prima facie merit” in Talvar’s arguments, the Bench said, “Any process of selection which appears to be a result of general or specific bias can invite judicial review.” Talvar alleged that the selection was “biased and vitiated on account of the strong affiliation between certain members of the committee and Chopra”.

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Chopra’s counsel Satish Maneshinde argued that the print of Eklavya had already been dispatched and would reach the US on Sunday. The court, however, clarified in its order that “the nomination of Eklavya is subject to court order. The respondents cannot claim equity that film has been received”.

Eklavya, according to the petitioner, did not do well at the box office and received negative reviews and yet was selected over her film which had received worldwide critical acclaim. The petition contends that not only was Talvar’s interest prejudiced but that “the interests of the film industry and the country has been compromised, given that Indian film industry is one of the largest in the world”.