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As filmmaker Rahul Rawail continues to make a flurry of accusations against India's Oscar jury head Amol Palekar, the Film Federation of India or FFI has distanced itself from the disgruntled former jury member. In a statement to the press, the FFI has denied wrong-doing in the process of selection of a film for the Oscars and said Mr Rawail should have alerted senior officials before going public with his allegations.
National Award-winning Marathi film Court was picked as India's official Oscar entry by a 17-member jury headed by Mr Palekar two days ago. Soon afterwards, Mr Rawail said in a tweet that he had resigned from the jury and blamed Mr Palekar for being 'obnoxious.'
In the FFI statement, secretary general Supran Sen says: "While we would not like to comment on Mr. Rawail's opinions which are his own, what we would have appreciated is a situation where he could have spoken to the FFI President and other senior officials before going to the media. Mr. Rawail has however mentioned in all his statements that he is very happy with the selection of Courtand his fellow jury members, a fact which we appreciate. We would like to maintain that all the norms and regulations governing the selection process were followed and the Federation is happy with the process."
Mr Sen also says he was present at the final proceedings and "did not see anything amiss in the way it was conducted."
Rahul Rawail, director of films like Jo Bole So Nihaal, has not only charged Amol Palekar with being 'obnoxious,' but also with being 'manipulative.' He told news agency IANS, "I'm proud that we had a great jury and some wonderful people who have a great knowledge of cinema and love for it. There was no issue in that, but yes there was one manipulative man. His name is Amol Palekar, who is the chairman of the jury. He is a complete manipulative person."
He also claimed that Mr Palekar had been anti-Court. "Our chairman Amol Palekar had only one agenda right from the beginning that Court shouldn't come. He was very adamant that somehow Court should be removed. I don't know the reason behind this but it is true. You can ask anyone else in the jury about it and they'll say that it is correct," said Mr Rawail.
Mr Palekar, 70, told NDTV via phone on Thursday, "All of us including him (Rahul Rawail) have signed an undertaking with the Film Federation of India (FFI). We are sworn to be secretive and I will not breach it till I get permission to open my mouth. Regarding his allegations, on a personal level I choose not to respond to his allegations. In my career of 45 years, such adjectives were never attached to my name and now if they are being attached, I think the whole process is complete that's all. Whatever he wants to say is his prerogative, I will not surrender my grace and dignity if someone else chooses to."
Meanwhile, the selection of Court has thrilled the rest of the film fraternity. Previous entries from India have included Mr Palekar's film Paheli and last year's Liar's Dice, but no Indian film has made it to the final five at the Oscars since Aamir Khan's 2001 blockbuster Lagaan.
National Award-winning Marathi film Court was picked as India's official Oscar entry by a 17-member jury headed by Mr Palekar two days ago. Soon afterwards, Mr Rawail said in a tweet that he had resigned from the jury and blamed Mr Palekar for being 'obnoxious.'
In the FFI statement, secretary general Supran Sen says: "While we would not like to comment on Mr. Rawail's opinions which are his own, what we would have appreciated is a situation where he could have spoken to the FFI President and other senior officials before going to the media. Mr. Rawail has however mentioned in all his statements that he is very happy with the selection of Courtand his fellow jury members, a fact which we appreciate. We would like to maintain that all the norms and regulations governing the selection process were followed and the Federation is happy with the process."
Mr Sen also says he was present at the final proceedings and "did not see anything amiss in the way it was conducted."
Rahul Rawail, director of films like Jo Bole So Nihaal, has not only charged Amol Palekar with being 'obnoxious,' but also with being 'manipulative.' He told news agency IANS, "I'm proud that we had a great jury and some wonderful people who have a great knowledge of cinema and love for it. There was no issue in that, but yes there was one manipulative man. His name is Amol Palekar, who is the chairman of the jury. He is a complete manipulative person."
He also claimed that Mr Palekar had been anti-Court. "Our chairman Amol Palekar had only one agenda right from the beginning that Court shouldn't come. He was very adamant that somehow Court should be removed. I don't know the reason behind this but it is true. You can ask anyone else in the jury about it and they'll say that it is correct," said Mr Rawail.
Mr Palekar, 70, told NDTV via phone on Thursday, "All of us including him (Rahul Rawail) have signed an undertaking with the Film Federation of India (FFI). We are sworn to be secretive and I will not breach it till I get permission to open my mouth. Regarding his allegations, on a personal level I choose not to respond to his allegations. In my career of 45 years, such adjectives were never attached to my name and now if they are being attached, I think the whole process is complete that's all. Whatever he wants to say is his prerogative, I will not surrender my grace and dignity if someone else chooses to."
Meanwhile, the selection of Court has thrilled the rest of the film fraternity. Previous entries from India have included Mr Palekar's film Paheli and last year's Liar's Dice, but no Indian film has made it to the final five at the Oscars since Aamir Khan's 2001 blockbuster Lagaan.
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