Adil Hussain wants government to back 'Village Rockstars' in Oscar race

Assamese actor Adil Hussain has appealed to the government to provide Rs 5 crore for the international promotion of Rima Das' Assamese film Village Rockstars, which has been selected as India's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars.

The Film Federation of India (FFI) announced the selection of the independent film on Saturday, giving it a chance to compete with entries from countries around the world for a place among the final Academy Award nominees.

However, the selection panel has raised concerns over the lack of financial resources available for promoting Indian films during the Oscar campaign. FFI selection committee chairman and veteran producer S.V. Rajendra Singh Babu said inadequate funding was one of the reasons Indian entries have struggled to make it to the final stage of the competition.

India has so far received three nominations in the category: Mother India in 1957, Salaam Bombay! in 1988 and Lagaan in 2001.

Reacting to the FFI chairman's comments, Adil said he was surprised that a film representing the country at the world's most prominent film awards could face a shortage of promotional funds.

“The governments have so much money to promote themselves putting posters all across! After selecting 'Village Rockstars', jury says there's acute lack of funds to promote film at Oscars,” he tweeted.

Adil, whose Norwegian film What Will People Say was also selected as Norway's official Oscar entry that year, appealed directly to the Assam government, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, his office and the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

He urged the authorities to immediately release Rs 5 crore to support the film's Oscar campaign, arguing that promotional campaigns for competing films had already begun in the US.

The appeal highlights an often-overlooked aspect of the Oscar selection process. Being chosen as a country's official entry does not guarantee an Academy Award nomination. Films must compete for the attention of Academy members, critics and industry professionals, making international publicity, screenings and networking an important part of the campaign.

S.V. Rajendra Singh Babu had similarly argued that independent and small-budget producers generally cannot afford such campaigns on their own. He said financial assistance was necessary to reach Academy members and critics effectively.

Village Rockstars, made on a modest budget and rooted in rural Assam, had already attracted international attention through its festival screenings and National Film Award win. Government support for its overseas campaign, Adil suggested, could help ensure that the film gets an opportunity to compete on a more equal footing with entries backed by larger production and promotional budgets.