No Country for Oscar Men

Kolkata, February 22 It will be a night of splendour and drama. Maybe there will be a dash of irony too, especially if Cate Blanchett manages to take home the best supporting actress trophy for playing a man in I’m Not There. But on most Kolkatan’s, the subtle twists and turns of the 80th Annual Academy Award that will be beamed across million homes around the world this Monday, will be wasted. For Kolkata has not been swept away by the raw sentimentality of Atonement (a nominee at the best film category), nor has it witnessed the relentless cat-and-mouse game between an over-the-hill sheriff and a sociopath killer in the best film favourite No Country For Old Men. In fact not a single one of the best five films at the Oscars this year has found its way to a Kolkata screen. “It’s true that none of the nominated films have been released in the city so far. And it’s very likely that most of them will not get a Kolkata release at all,” says Sanjeev Khandelwal of Warner Bros. India.

Last year, apart from the much-hyped Martin Scorsese directed Departed, the multi-starrer Babel and Blood Diamond, no major nominees found their way to city halls. This year the story is much the same. The reason, authorities claim, is quite predictably, commercial viability.

“Most of these Oscar nominated releases are produced by independent producers or small production house or even individuals, hence it doesn’t make

economical sense either for the producer or for the local importer to release the films in India,” says Utpal Acharya — VP Programming & Distribution, INOX Leisure Ltd.

Even if the prints of the films do get shipped to the country, a Kolkata release is quite low on the priority list of most distributors. “To be very honest, it doesn’t make much sense to release an English film in the city. There are hardly any screens dedicated to English films, which is why there isn’t any audience. If you ask me, it’s a vicious circle,” says Khandelwal.

A stark contrast to the scenario even a decade back when halls like Jamuna, Globe and Lighthouse lapped up all the major English releases. “English film viewership in Kolkata has dwindled to a pitiful figure. It’s quite clear that this generation is not interested in English or foreign films,” says Debashish Sengupta who handles the business of film houses like Paramount and Columbia in the city.

So, an Atonement, is screened in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore in tandem with other Asian cities, while the Kolkata release date is relegated to the back-burner. Yet, there is some good news for Oscar enthusiasts of the city. “We plan to release Atonement, There Will be Blood, No Country for Old Men soon in the city,” says Acharya. Amen to that.