After the announcement of India’s official entry for the Oscars, the members of the Jury have explained the reason for the rejection of the widely popular entries, including newly released movie “Sardar Udham”. According to Indraadip Dasgupta,” the film portrays our hatred towards the British”.
Indraadip Dasgupta was one of
the members of the jury that decided which movie should be selected as India’s
Official entry for Oscar awards for 2022. He gave his official statement
regarding the rejection of “Sardar Udham” stating that,” Sardar Udham is a
little lengthy and harps on the Jallianwala Bagh incident. It is an honest
effort to make a lavish film on an unsung hero of the Indian freedom struggle.
But in the process, it again projects our hatred towards the British. In this
era of globalization, it is not fair to hold on to this hatred.” Although he
praised Sardar Udham for its production quality and cinematography.
Sardar Udham is based on the
life of a freedom fighter named Sardar Udham Singh, who inspired Bhagat Singh
to fight for the freedom of India through his brave actions. After the Jallianwala
Bagh massacre, Sardar Udham Singh decided to teach britishers a lesson and
killed General Dwyer at the Caxton Hall in London.
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Fans were not satisfied by the reasons given for the rejection and shared their feelings on social media. One of the fans wrote, “Whether Sardar Udham deserves an entry or not is a different question, but to dismiss on such grounds displays nothing but racism and power dynamics. Globalisation doesn't mean we cannot raise our voices against historical injustice anymore. So many sociopolitical movements around the world would cease to exist then. I guess "globalisation" hadn't been an issue when Lagaan and Rang De Basanti were nominated.”
Another fan also commented, “Isn't it casting reality. What if it was a movie on World War 1 or 2 ...you would reject it because it depicts the reality of Hitler's Germany?”.
This year’s Oscar Entry from
India is the Tamil language drama movie Koozhangal (Pebbles), which is directed
by Vinothraj PS.