The Wrong Road

The New York Times found The Lunchbox “a deft and charming first feature by Ritesh Batra.” Variety raved that this “feel-good movie … touches the heart.” Hollywood Reporter predicted it would be “one of the top 5 Oscar contenders for the foreign film category.” Screen Daily was enamored by its the “subtle flavors.” Michael Moore declared “it’s one of my favorite films at Telluride this year” and Salman Rushdie chimed in that “it’s the best Indian film in a long time, a true foreign film Oscar contender.”

Cameron Bailey, artistic director of the Toronto Film Fest, was another passionate admirer, insisting that it’s “India’s best hope for an Oscar nomination and I would love to see it go, all the way.”

Applauded and feted at every major Film Fest it played at, The Lunchbox opened in India to rave reviews too with everyone convinced that it was the ideal Indian entry for Oscars 2014.

Alas, it was not to be.

Film director Gautam Ghosh, chairman of the Oscar Selection Committee and his jury members admitted that while it was a very tough call and all the members solidly debated for more than five hours before finally selecting The Good Road, a National Award Winner for Best Gujarati film. Ghosh argued that The Good Road “surprises as it shows the unknown India through the story of a boy who gets lost and then found while his family is on a holiday in Kutch.” Filmmaker Gyan Correa’s debut film edged out, aside from The Lunchbox, several other heavies, such as Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, English Vinglish and Vishvaroopam.

Reactions flew thick n’ fast! Producer Anurag Kashyap and TV host Karan Johar tweeted their deep disappointment. Film scholar and historian Rauf Ahmed alleged, “Have you guys ever considered that this selection could well be the result of the infectious and rampaging Na-Mo (Narendra Modi) effect/wave. It is totally a made-in-Gujarat product, remember!”

On a more serious note, Ahmed believes the critics have got it wrong “Entertainment or good stories don’t add up to great world cinema, not for the phirangs, anyway. There has to be a sense of pluralism and inclusiveness. Local roots with a global flavor. We just don’t make the cut.”

Actor Victor Banerjee (A Passage to India) puts it in perspective: “Two observations. The Oscars — having been there and knowing the score — also have their own peculiarities and games they play. Gandhi swept the polls not necessarily because it was a deserving film, but because, the apostle of non-violence was the flavor of the moment. Same with Slumdog. The other thing is that we have not really been to produce the kind of world class cinema required to resonate with the powers that are. We are way behind. I mean sending stuff like Taare Zameen Par and Black (a lift from Miracle Worker apparently pointed out by the Oscar honchos) is ridiculous!”

Kabir Bedi squarely blames the selectors. “They don’t seem to have a clue about how the Oscar voting process happens and what rocks with them. Can’t they learn from having a look at some of the recent foreign film winners?”

Director Leena Nayak suspects politics and power play. “Don’t be surprised if Lunchbox was dumped because it does not portray the real India as The Good Road does. Also because it has already been hugely celebrated with awards, publicity and ra-ra’s from high-profile media critics and film personalities at home and abroad and been co-produced by some foreign funds. The Good Road by comparison is a humble, home-grown unsung, unheralded and unknown regional film produced by our very own NDFC and speaks of new experiences of unknown people from remote Kutch. It defines and echoes the voice and throb of the real India, as opposed to Mumbai & dabbawalas.”

Ironically, some in the Gujarat film fraternity have protested the film for defaming Gujarat. Small children, especially girls, speak abusive language and it portrays child prostitution on the highways of Kutch, they charge.

Social Commentator Santosh Desai isn’t impressed by the critics. He believes that just because Lunchbox is the raging flavor of the day, spiced up by all the right ingredients — global hosannas, local hype, amazing patronage from both the Masala King and Cross-over Champ — it does not automatically become the choice for a trip to the Oscars. “Let’s be fair and objective. Sure Lunchbox is a fine and sensitive film, but the kind of hype n’ hoopla that accompanies it, positions it as the undisputed choice, which can be challenged. How many (in all truth) of The Lunchbox fans have heard or seen The Good Road? C’mon give regional films a chance!”

Desai also believes that the balance between “being original, true to the spirit of India and telling a compelling story that touches the heart of every human being is a real tough act, because at the end of the day, cinema is culture-specific and one man’s emotion can be another’s no-big-deal. So, best, go with your heart and remember no contest or competition on earth can ever be controversy-proof.”

The final words must come from two critically important players in the cause celebre — Neena Gupta (Chairperson of NFDC) and Oscar Selection Committee Chairman Gautam Ghosh. Gupta admitted she was thrilled that the winner, and another contender, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, were all part co-produced by NFDC. However, she insisted that the Corporation had no say in the final selection for the Oscars.

Ghosh was frank and open about the hungama over The Lunchbox being passed over by The Good Road. “If it’s any consolation, my personal favorite and choice no. 1 was The Lunchbox. I just loved the film’s layering, nuances and shadings, but the ultimate decision had to be collective, not individualist and the reason for The Good Road winning out was that it represented the India voice, experience and story more than the other film.”

Ghosh, like Desai, is bemused by the controversy, insisting: “I am confident most of the guys creating this racket have neither heard, nor seen this film. Why treat regional films like pariahs? Good cinema has no language barrier, as the masters of world cinema have repeatedly shown us, so instead of getting dazzled by the hi-octave hype, see the film. You could very well be as surprised and delighted as us. The Good Road’s selection does not in any way devalue the merit or worth of the brilliant Lunchbox. Full marks to Ritesh Batra. Unfortunately, only one film can be selected.”