Saturday, September 29, 2007

Eklavya selection for Oscars biased, says Bombay HC

New Delhi: The Bombay High Court on Saturday noted that prima facie the selection of Eklavya as India's entry for the Oscars looked biased.

This comes after hearing a petition filed by filmmaker Bhavna Talwar challenging the selection of Vidhu Vinod Chopra's film for the award ceremony.

The Division bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice Dhananjay Chandrachud issued notices to the Film Federation of India (FFI) - the body that selects India's entry to the Academy Awards in Hollywood.

The respondents in the case have been asked to file a reply by October 10.

Talwar whose film Dharm was also in the running to be selected as India's entry for the Oscars had filed the petition alleging that some members of the FFI were close to Vidhu Vinod Chopra and so the selection of Eklavya is not a fair one.

Film editor Ranjit Bahadur, one of 11 jury members who picked our Oscar entry this year, was also the man who edited the behind-the-scenes capsule of Eklavya which appears on the film's DVD.

With the film already in the eye of a storm over allegations that its selection may have been dubious, this development certainly adds fuel to the fire.

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