India to take centrestage at Oscar 2013

After Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire swept the Academy Awards in 2009, several Hollywood films with significant India connection have emerged as frontrunners in the 2013 Oscar nominations.

Steven Spielberg's Lincoln -- produced by Anil Ambani's Reliance-Dreamworks -- bagged 12 nominations and is trailed by Ang Lee's Life Of Pi with 11 nominations in major categories, including a nod for Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri.

While David O Russell-directed comedy The Silver Linings Playbook, starring Indian actor Anupam Kher in a pivotal role, bagged seven nominations, becoming the first film in 31 years to be nominated in all four acting categories.
  
A historical drama starring Daniel Day Lewis in the role of Abraham Lincoln, Spielberg's film released in the US in November 2012 and is scheduled to hit Indian screens on February 8.

Lincoln has also got 10 BAFTA Awards nominations, 7 Golden Globes nominations and 4 Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations.

For Life of Pi, Ang Lee chose an entirely Indian cast depicting Indian culture beautifully in the adventure-drama. He shot the 3D

film in places like Munnar and Pondicherry in South India.
 
Lee made several trips to India and finally chose Delhi student Suraj Sharma to play the lead in the film, over 3000
others. He also cast noted Indian actors -- Irrfan, Tabu and Adil Hussain to play key roles in the movie.
 
Reacting to the film's success at the nominations, Hussain said, "I am overwhelmed and feel privileged to be a part of this great movie as an Indian actor, being a stage actor primarily. I was expecting the film and Lee to be nominated in major categories but 11 nods is really great."

Pi, adapted from Yann Martel's novel of the same name, is the survival story of an Indian boy lost in the ocean with
a Bengal tiger for over 227 days. The film, produced by Fox Star Studios', did very well at the Indian box office, earning Rs 90 crore.

Jayashri is nominated in the Original song category for Pi's Lullaby alongwith the composer Michael Danna.

Congratulating the Carnatic vocalist on her nomination, Oscar-winner A R Rahman tweeted, "Congrats to Bombay
Jayashree. First ever Academy Award nomination for a Tamil song."

With inputs from PTI