Afterthe announcement of India’s official entry for the Oscars, the members of theJury have explained the reason for the rejection of the widely popular entries,including newly released movie “Sardar Udham”. According to IndraadipDasgupta,” the film portrays our hatred towards the British”.
Indraadip Dasgupta was one ofthe members of the jury that decided which movie should be selected as India’sOfficial entry for Oscar awards for 2022. He gave his official statementregarding the rejection of “Sardar Udham” stating that,” Sardar Udham is alittle lengthy and harps on the Jallianwala Bagh incident. It is an honesteffort 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 thisera of globalization, it is not fair to hold on to this hatred.” Although hepraised Sardar Udham for its production quality and cinematography.
Sardar Udham is based on thelife of a freedom fighter named Sardar Udham Singh, who inspired Bhagat Singhto fight for the freedom of India through his brave actions. After the JallianwalaBagh massacre, Sardar Udham Singh decided to teach britishers a lesson andkilled General Dwyer at the Caxton Hall in London.
Fans were not satisfied by thereasons given for the rejection and shared their feelings on social media. Oneof the fans wrote, “Whether Sardar Udham deserves an entry or not is adifferent question, but to dismiss on such grounds displays nothing but racismand power dynamics. Globalisation doesn't mean we cannot raise our voicesagainst historical injustice anymore. So many sociopolitical movements aroundthe world would cease to exist then. I guess "globalisation" hadn'tbeen an issue when Lagaan and Rang De Basanti were nominated.”
Another fan also commented, “Isn'tit casting reality. What if it was a movie on World War 1 or 2 ...you wouldreject it because it depicts the reality of Hitler's Germany?”.
This year’s Oscar Entry fromIndia is the Tamil language drama movie Koozhangal (Pebbles), which is directedby Vinothraj PS.