Aseem : Hello everyone -- this is Aseem Chhabra
sandip : hi everybodyhello
Aseem : Hey Sandip. Did you watch the Oscars?
Indian : HI everybody, Can anyone explain me why Lagaan lost?
Aseem : Also I think Lagaan, with its length, songs and dnces was too foreign for the members of the Acaemy.
CoolDesi : Does any one know the exact position of Lagaan? 2nd or 3rd ..
Aseem : Nobody will ever know Lagaan's position. That information is a guarded secret with Price Waterhouse.
Suhel : hi Aseem! moving on to the best actor category, dont u think Russel Crowe deserved the award ! imean, Denzel was good, but Russel crowe and evne Will Smith were far superior!
Aseem : Suhel, there are so many issues that go into deciding who the best actor should be. I think Russell Crowe was brilliant in a Beautiful Mind. The reasons he did not win could be -- that he won last year; that he has a terrible temper; that Julia Roberts spoke out in favor of Denzel Washington; that this year the Academy suddenly woke up to honor black actors.
malavika : I am so happy that Denzel Washington finally won !!
Aseem : Yes I am glad Denzel won -- even though I personally found Russell's performance much stronger -- but as I said before so many issues are considered before Academy members cast their votes. Julia Roberts definitely had a lot to do with Denzel's victory.
malavika : Lagaan is a good movie in national standards, but is a comman man's movie,I mean, nothing intellectually brilliant about it
Aseem : Lagaan was the best Bollywood has offered us in a long time. But Bollywood films are far too foreign for the American members of the Academy. They usually go for serious heavy movies -- like No Man's Land.Quite frankly Lagaan's nomination was enough of a recognition for India.
sam : aseem, do you think the academy felt 'pressurised' in some way to suddenly honor black actors?
Aseem : Sam and Suhel: I do thin the Academy did feel pressurised to honor black actors.Well Oscars are Oscars. You have to take what you get. After all there are about 6,000 human beings voting for their favorite actors and films. And these 6,000 do get affected by all the talk that goes on.
karkal : Hi Aseem - Americans like foreign movies decribing the bad plight of the other countries ? Hence Amelie and Lagaan lost to No mans movie
Aseem : Karkal and Rishi: I don't think we can make simple statements like that. Amelie was heavily pushed by Miramax -- the distribution company. It has made over a million dollars worldwide. Sometimes members of the Academy get turned off by these facts (not always, but sometimes). The anti- war message in No Man's Land is very topical in the wake of the war in Afghanistan and everything that is going around us.
sam : Aseem, why do you think Lord of the rings peter jackson didnt get mentioned at the best picture/ direction award? DO you think it is to do with the fact that it is only a 'third' of a trilogy? DO you think it gave way to ron howard with this 'triumph' of human mind fare that the academy SO loves?
Aseem : I am going to speculated about Lord of the Rings -- I think the film was a bit too long and not tight enough like A Beautiful Mind.
sourabh : See!The film which ultimately won in the foreign film category is all about war and very depressing!Lagaan on the other hand speaks of human spirit and art of living together!So what reasons do you attribute for its not winning!
Aseem : There could be many -- and by the way I loved Lagaan. But the length of the film, the songs and dances, the cricket game -- any of these reasons could have made the Academy memebers vote against Lagaan.
Shahezadi : aseem, awaiting your elaboration on the julia roberts remark...
Aseem : Julia Roberts made a statement about a week ago that it was unfair that actors like Denzel Washington had not gotten the best actor award (he won in the supporting actor category for Glory) -- and that she had won as best actress award last year.Julia is a huge fan of Denzel -- they acted in Pelican Brief.
rocks : What happened to Harry Potter..?
Aseem : Harry Potter was a charming movie -- it made a ton of money, but critics in the US blasted the film. They said it was too literal transalation of the book. It's chances at the Osacrs were nill.
nirmal : Aseem, do you feel that india movies despite being deserving, never given as much attention as hollywood ones
Aseem : Yes that is right -- very few Indian movies are shown in mainstream American theaters -- although Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding is doing real well int eh US.
windisha : i think lagaan was really very hyped up.. we all know an indian movie could never get the award... they are too prude to allow this... what do you think ?
Aseem : I am sure one day an Indian movie will win an Oscar. Lagaan is being released in the mainstream American theaters (actually art house theaters) in May -- let's see what the American public thinks about the film.
smartdesi : aseem, do you think two black artistes winning the award is a positive sign? As Halle berry said, it is a step foward for any person of colour? do you think Indian films can stand a better chance hence?
Aseem : Well the fact that Laggan was nominated is a huge step in itsself. You know that it is the third Indian film to be nominated -- no Satyajit Ray film was ever nominated for an Oscar -- isn't that odd??
Rishi : Aseem about your statement "Julia Roberts made a statement about a week ago that it was unfair that actors like Denzel " ... the voting process has been on for close to 2 months and not last week!!
Aseem : I may be wrong about the timing -- maybe she made the statement two weeks ago -- but it was recently. I have been away from New York for two weeks. The voting process for the Oscars eneded on March 19.
Bhuvan : Aseembhai: This prominence for Lagaan. Will it mean more work for Aamir in Hollywood?
Aseem : I believe Aamir has been talking to some people in Hollywood about working there -- no definite confirmation here though.
nirmal : Aseem, dont you think that we are disappointed only because we keep so much expectations for a thing which we never had before, is the case with Lagaan?
Aseem : I have been in India for two weeks and I am amazed at the hype in the press about Lagaan. It had become an issue of national honor. I think the nation -- all of us, should be proud that the film was nominated -- that is a great recognition -- that people saw the film, and they defnitely have a more positive view about Bollywood films.
BeeGees : Aseem, on hindsight, do you feel Monsoon Wedding might have been a better Indian representative at the Oscars ?
Aseem : Perhaps -- I think Monsoon Wedding is a type of film that Americans can be more accepting about. It is Mira Nair's version of a Bolywood film -- but much closer to reality.
anita : i also thought amelie....would win...why aseem ...amelie did not win?
Aseem : There had been such a huge hype about Amelie -- even before it was released in the US last fall. It was hit in France -- and everybody was sure it will win the Oscar. But for the foreign film category members of the Academy have to give an affidavit that they have seen all the five nominated films.And often the film with the most hype - like Amelie do not win.Plus people get turned off by the amount of advertising/publicity Miramax does -- they spend millions of dollars pushing their films -- and I think they did not get any award today.
karkal : Definitely this is not Denzel's best film . He was overlooked in the previous oscars atleast twice he should have won ? Since this Hollywood celebrated Black year it decided to give the best of that folk.
Aseem : Yes, Denzel has done more powerful work in the past that was ignored -- such as in Hurricane. I don't know if you can say that Hollywood set out to celeberate blacks this year -- although the end results seems like so.
Shyamal : After seeing no mans lan, amelie and lagaan, i feel that no mans lan winning had more to do with the current scenario in US than it being a better film. What do u feel Aseem?
Aseem : You are probably right -- although No Man's Land is very powerful film.
raghukul : I hope the commercial release of LAGAAN makes it big in the US. After all that is much bigger than the Oscar.....
Aseem : I hope so too. Lagaan was released in the desi theaters last year and did quite well there. The American theater release is going to be limited -- mostly small art house theaters in big cities. And Sony Pictures Classic is pitching the film as a cross between Dr. Zhivago and The Sound fo Music.
Shyamal : It was funny how Russel Crow didnt win. Peter Jackson also didnt win. Could it be cos they aint from USA? and Denzel Washington & Ron Howard are???
Aseem : No I don't think that is true. And a lot of technical/art etc awards were won by Australian or New Zealanders.
windisha : so many years and no indian movie has won an oscar, so what was it about lagaan that raised so many hopes?
Aseem : Just exactly what you said -- so many years (45 years of foreign film awards) and no Indian film ever won.
halley : monsoon wedding is a hit here in US
Aseem : You are right Monsoon Wedding is doing real well in teh US -- it is also a hit in Europe.
avt : Mr.Aseem what d you think will happen now when lagaan is commercially released in usa,will it work?????
Aseem : I hope so -- but as I said before, Lagaan made $1 million in the desi theaters in the US and Canada lat year. It is already out on video and DVD -- available at local rental stores in the US. Now the US art house release may give it some more boost and also make Aericans recognize how good some of our Bollywood films are.
halley : sean penn deserved the award, but he was not invited
Aseem : Sean Penn must have been invited. He is like Aamir Khan and Woody Alan. He doesn't like to attend award shows.
john : Aseem,is there any prize money with the Oscars
Aseem : No the real award is the Oscar statue. But films that win the top awards get wide release in the US and that helps their box office potentital. A Beautiful Mind was released in December (I think so) and it is already a hit, but the Oscar will make it a bigger money maker.
ashwani : ASEEM. WHAT IS THE SYSTEM OF JURY FOR OSCARS
Aseem : There is no jury system. The Academy consists of approximately 6,000 members made of different Hollywood branches -- actors, directors, producers, editors, cinematographers, musicians, publicists etc. And they all nominate different films and then vote for the film winners. All past winners and nominees are members of the Academy.
halley : no aseem. u have wrong info then Sean Penn was not invited. academy forgot..
Aseem : Really -- did you read that some place? You can be right. But I know from the past that Sean Penn has refused to attend the Oscar ceremony. He was nominated for Dead Man Walking -- but he did not turn up for the show.
nirmal : Aseem, one thing : the movies which win the oscars , are they really made with that intention of winning the prize rather than commercial success plans?
Aseem : Movies are made for different reasons -- awards are good , and films are a form of art, but the film business ultimately is also a commercial business.
maddu : Russel(Crow) got it last year due reason other than talent, it will not happen again..
Aseem : I kind of agree with you. Russell Crowe actually deserved to win the year before last for The Insider.
catchgops : Aseem, do you think a trimmed Lagaan would have helped it at the Oscars?
Aseem : Maybe -- I believe Aamir did try to trim down Lagaan. But the film just did not work. But also I think a trimmed down Lagaan would have meant pandering to the Academy. Lagaan should stand the way it is 3 hours 40 minutes.
avt : Please tell me mr.aseem,did ismail merchant lobby for satyajit ray to get him an oscar??
Aseem : Yes he did -- big time, I believe.
Aseem : OK folks. Got to go. It was nice chatting with you all. Those of you who are living in India go see A Beatiful Mind. It is a strong film. Bye.