Actor Aamir Khan’s Lagaan remains the last Indian film to receive a nomination in the Best International Feature category at the Oscars.
When Lagaan was nominated two decades ago, the category was known as Best Foreign Language Film.
Aamir is eyeing another nomination this year as he promotes the country’s official selection, Missing Ladies. The comedy drama is directed by his ex-wife Kiran Rao and produced by him.
In an interview with BBC Asian Network, Aamir expressed disagreement with his contemporary Shah Rukh Khan on why Indian films struggle to get attention at the Oscars.
In an old interview, Shah Rukh had said, “Lagaan was a combination of an art and commercial film. And it was a brilliant film.
But we have to change the format of our films. If I am invited to your party, I have to dress up the way you tell me. I can’t go on my way of two-and-a-half hours and five songs. We have to change it.” Aamir replied, “No, I don’t agree. I don’t agree. Because Lagaan was three hours and 42 minutes long. And it had six songs. And it got nominated. To get nominated, the members have to really like your film.
Lagaan proves that a film with songs, even if it’s very long, is not a problem for the Academy members. I think it depends on how good your work is, and how you touch hearts. The members are human beings after all.”
Aamir explained that the process of getting an Oscar nomination is not as straightforward as one might think. He said, “People forget that this is the toughest category in the Oscars. Because when you are competing for the best film, you are competing with a limited number of films.
But in the best international feature category, you are actually competing with the best film from each country. Now, let’s look at India. We make 1000 films a year. To be selected from India, you have to beat 1000 films first.
People forget that. And then you are in a field where there are 80 other films. And to be nominated among 80 films is tough in itself. The reason why India doesn’t get nominated every year is that there are films from Iran, Germany, France and all over the world. You are in very good company.”
Only three Indian films in history have been nominated in the International Feature category – Mother India, Salaam Bombay and Lagaan.
However, attention to Indian cinema has increased in the last few years, with RRR winning in the Best Original Song category, and Elephant Whispers winning in the Best Documentary Short category.
Additionally, films like Writing with Fire and All That Breathes received nominations in the Best Documentary Feature category, and this year, films like Santosh, Girls Will Be Girls and All We Imagine as Light are being seen as contenders in a handful of categories.