Mangaluru: It is indeed a proud moment for Karnataka as the recent sandalwood hit ‘Rangitaranga’ has made its official entry into the 88th Academy Awards’ (Oscars) final list of 305 movies. The other entries included in this list are Konkani film ‘Nachom-ia Kumpasar’, Malayalam film ‘Jalam’ and Hindi film Hemalkasa.
There was, however, a slight disappointment for Marathi film lovers that the film ‘Court’ did not find a mention in the list of Indian movies eligible for the award. Directed by Chaitanya Tamhane, ‘Court’ is a critical look at India’s justice system.
Rangitaranga (Colourful Wave), a 2015 Indian Kannada mystery thriller film written and directed by debutante Anup Bhandari features follows mysterious trail of crime on finding his wife missing and the final discovery of the criminal.
Upon theatrical release on 3 July 2015, the film opened to overwhelmingly positive response from audiences and critics alike. Critics acclaimed the film’s screenplay, direction, film score, cinematography and the acting performance of the lead Saikumar.
The jury will watch the movies from this final list and pick the winners for the awards. ‘Court’, directed by Chaitanya Tamhane is a critical look at India’s justice system, while Jalam directed by M Padmakumar is about the challenges faced by a widow. Hemalkasa is a touching biopic of humanitarian Dr Prakash Baba Amte and his wife Dr Mandakini Amte directed by Samruddhi Porey starring Nana Patekar and Sonali Kulkarni.
‘Nachom-ia Kumpasar’, a Konkani film that pays tribute to unsung Goan musicians of the 1960s and 1970s directed by Bardroy Barretto has made it to the list of productions eligible in the foreign film category. The movie is in contention in the best foreign film category and in the best background score category.
The film has won the Indian National Award for best film, best production design and best mention for the actor, the Lebara Audience Choice Award at the London Indian Film Festival, the best film (out of competition category) at the Brasov International Film Festival, the best music award for the Global Music Award, US, the best director, best background score and best sound design at the Filmmakers Film Festival Milan.
No sooner had the film made a name for itself it began receiving invites from festivals around the world. The film has already travelled to the Melbourne Indian Film Festival, Mexico Cinefest, the Chicago South Asian Film Festival, Seattle South Asian Film Festival, Mumbai Moving Images Festival (MAMI), the International Film Festival of India, the Honolulu South Asian Film Festival and will travel to the Victoria Film Festival Canada and festivals in South Africa and Dubai.
