India rolls Liar’s Dice for the Oscars

September 23, 2014 02:52 pm | Updated November 26, 2021 10:27 pm IST - New Delhi/Kochi

Hindi road drama Liar’s Dice will be India’s nomination for the Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, which will be given away in Los Angeles in 2015.

The movie, directed by Kerala State award-winner Geetu Mohandas, stars national award winners Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Set along the Himachal-Tibet border, the movie deals with distress migration.

“I am overwhelmed by the news but not overexcited about it. You feel very good and enjoy a positive energy when people call up to share their joy about the movie getting selected as the nation’s entry for the best foreign language film of the 87th Academy Awards,” she told The Hindu here on Tuesday attributing her nomination to her “lucky stars.” Liar’s Dice has been on a roll on the international festival circuit, besides winning two national awards, for best actress for Geethanjali Thapa (who played the protagonist, Kamala), and best cinematographer for Rajeev Ravi (Geetu’s husband).

Liar’s Dice was the unanimous choice

Liar’s Dice, directed by Geetu Mohandas, was the unanimous choice of the 12-member selection committee, headed by Malayalam filmmaker T. Hariharan, as India’s entry for the Oscar, Film Federation of India Deputy Secretary Anindya Sengupta said here on Tuesday.

The film had to compete with 29 other films, including the Tamil movie Kochadaiyaan and the Hindi films Mardaani, Shahid, Filmistaan, Queen and Mary Kom. At the Oscars, it will compete with Poland’s Ida, Sweden’s Force Majeure and Canada’s Mommy.

Mommy won the Jury Prize at Cannes this year and Ida has bagged prizes at the London and Toronto film festivals last year.

Asked how she plans to market her movie ahead of the race for the Oscars, Geetu replied in her characteristic style that she would not do any lobbying or marketing to get noticed in Hollywood. “I am confident that the movie would speak for itself,” she said.

Liar’s Dice is her first Hindi film and only her second directorial venture. She is currently working on a Malayalam film.

Speaking to The Hindu, Ms. Mohandas said, “Whatever happens at the Oscars will not take away our hard work and efforts.”

No Indian film has won the Academy Award so far and only three films — Lagaan, Salaam Bombay and Mother India — have made it to the top five finalists in past years.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.