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Lost Ladies out of Oscars race; UK-Based film with Indian cast advances
Santosh, an international co-production involving the UK, India, Germany, and France, has been praised as a "deft thriller" and a complex exploration of class, caste, and gender.
Official posters of Lost Ladies and Santosh / Image- Wikipedia
Lost Ladies, India's official entry for the Best International Feature category at the 97th Academy Awards, has failed to make the shortlist while Santosh, a film representing the UK by British-Indian filmmaker, featuring Indian actors, has been shortlisted in the same category.
The failure of the Indian film to qualify was met with sharp criticism from Indian filmmaker Hansal Mehta and Grammy-winning composer Ricky Kej, who expressed disappointment with the Film Federation of India (FFI) over its choice of Lost Ladies as India’s entry.
Hansal Mehta took to social media to sarcastically remark on the FFI’s track record, stating, “Film Federation of India does it again! Their strike rate and selection of films year after year is impeccable.”
Echoing similar concerns, Ricky Kej praised Lost Ladies as an entertaining film but deemed it “the wrong choice” for the Oscars. In a detailed post, he urged the FFI to prioritize films with uncompromising artistic merit over mainstream Bollywood projects, suggesting that India’s entries often fail to represent the nation’s best cinematic achievements.
Santosh: A UK-India collaboration
Santosh, directed by Sandhya Suri, has made it to the shortlist for Best International Feature. The film, which premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, is set in Uttar Pradesh.
It follows a widowed housewife, played by Shahana Goswami, who inherits her late husband's job as a police constable and investigates the murder of a Dalit teenager. The film, an international co-production involving the UK, India, Germany, and France, has been praised as a "deft thriller" and a complex exploration of class, caste, and gender.
Suri described her debut feature as "deeply political" but noted that care was taken to avoid making it overly didactic.
Indian connection in other categories
In addition to Santosh, another project with Indian roots, Anuja, has advanced in the Live Action Short Film category. Directed by Adam J. Graves and Suchitra Mattai, and co-produced by Guneet Monga and Mindy Kaling, the short follows a nine-year-old girl in New Delhi facing a choice between education and factory work.
Guneet Monga celebrated the achievement on social media, saying, “It’s been an honour to be a part of this extraordinary story of the human spirit. Congratulations to our stars Sajda Pathan and Ananya Shanbhag, and the entire team.”
The final nominations for the 97th Academy Awards will be announced on January 17, 2025.
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