End of the Good Road

From indie obscurity to grabbing national headlines,The Good Road’s selection as India’s official entry to the Oscars received equal amounts of fame and infamy. The film drew mixed reactions from different quarters of the industry because it was chosen over this season’s favourite,Lunchbox. The Gyan Correa directed Gujarati-language film is a story about three lives intersecting on the harsh highways of Kutch. The buzz surrounding the film however was not enough. On Saturday,the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the first shortlist in the Foreign Language Film category and The Good Road has not made the cut. Nine out of the 76 films originally submitted advanced to the next round of voting. It lost out to films from countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina,Cambodia,Palestine and Belgium among others,selected by Los Angeles-based Academy members through screenings held between mid-October and December 16. The final shortlist,consisting of five nominees selected by specially invited committees from New York and Los Angeles,along with other categories will be announced on January 16.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com