India's race to Oscars: FFI lashes out at 'The Lunchbox' makers

The Film Federation of India (FFI) has decided to react to the much-publicised disappointment at The Lunchbox not being selected as India’s entry for the Oscars. It’s sent a stern letter to Ritesh Batra, director of The Lunchbox, demanding an “unconditional apology” from him for making “derogatory remarks” about the panel that chose Gyan Correa’s The Good Road over The Lunchbox. According to a report by Mint, the letter, signed by FFI’s secretary general Supran Sen, has been sent to Batra and copies of the letter have been send out to three producers of The Lunchbox —  Disney UTV, Anurag Kashyap and Karan Johar. [caption id=“attachment_1142877” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Courtesy: ibn live[/caption] The FFI’s decision to ignore The Lunchbox and the buzz that had been generated about it mystified many in the Indian film industry. Batra expressed his disappointment at the FFI’s choice on Twitter. https://twitter.com/riteshbatra/status/381615763120848896 https://twitter.com/riteshbatra/status/381498063182757888 https://twitter.com/riteshbatra/status/381377407803854848 Johar too expressed his dismay, but his tweet questioning the wisdom of the FFI is more guarded: https://twitter.com/karanjohar/status/382835000401752065 Less diplomatic was Kashyap, who tweeted, “i dont know who the federation is.but it goes to show, why we completely lack the understanding to make films that can travel across borders.” In an interview to  Tehelka, Kashyap said, “I have lost faith in everything because of the Film Federation of India’s decision to send The Good Road to the Oscars … because I have realised that the community of independent filmmakers in India is essentially crabs in a basket; they cannot bear to see a film or a filmmaker do well.” The criticism of FFI’s Oscar panel also came from people who were not involved with the film, like director Mira Nair whose Monsoon Wedding had lost out to Lagaan in 2002. https://twitter.com/riteshbatra/status/381702797923586048 The FFI’s decision came distinctly under suspect when the chairperson of the jury Gautam Ghose who in an interview confessed that The Lunchbox was his personal favourite too, but placed the blame neatly upon other members of the jury. After all this, that the FFI has chosen to demand an apology only of Batra, the newcomer in Bollywood, should raise more eyebrows. This course of action is not likely to help the FFI win any popularity votes. Mint confirmed that although the letter dated 23 September and according to the newspaper, Batra is yet to receive it.