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Journalism of Courage
Angelina Jolies toned right leg and Gwyneth Paltrow in her Tom Ford cape-gown did manage to grab enough eyeballs in India during the 84th Oscar Academy Awards. But do movies like The Artist,The Iron Lady and Hugo,which walk away with an Oscar in some capacity or the other,also manage to weave their charm on Indian cinegoers?
Rajiv Sangari,MD,Top Entertainment and distributors of the The Artist,said that if a film wins an Oscar it does indeed impact Indian cinegoers. The Artist was a black-and- white film and the hero was a French actor. If it had not won an Oscar the Indian audience would not have given a damn,and it would have been watched only by the film fraternity. We released the film on Friday,and the box-office collections went up only on Monday after it bagged the Oscar for the Best Film. The Indian audience is certainly drawn more to an Oscar winner. However,I cannot say the same about the other Oscar nominee The Descendants,because George Clooney has a great fan following and an audience in India, said Sangari.
Concedes Manoj Desai of G7 in Mumbai. The Oscar fever is definitely there. The English-speaking audience that comprises the younger generations is quite taken up by an Oscar nominee and winner because they feel that these awards are genuine and the films worth watching, he said.
Prakhar Joshi,Programming Head,PVR Cinemas,also agrees,saying that there was a huge demand in India for films like Chicago,which won six Academy Awards including Best Picture in 2002 and the 2004 Million Dollar Baby,which received the Oscar for the Best Picture that year. However,I cannot say the same for The Artist,which won the Oscar this year,at least in my theatres. Anyway,Hindi films,which release during that week are not affected by Oscar winners because the Hindi-speaking audience is going to watch their films regardless, said Joshi.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says that Oscars or no Oscars,the Hindi audience is just not interested in watching these films. Our audience is not into watching award-winning films,whether they win domestic or international awards. It just wants commercial entertainers. If The Artist is being watched by people it will be comprise those who love art cinema, said Adarsh.
Trade analyst Amod Mehra endorsed Adarshs statement saying that Generally Oscar nominees and Oscar winners are all slow,serious films and they do not have a market in India. If an Oscar winner like Slumdog Millionnaire did well it was because it was marketed like a Hindi film.
