Irrfan disappointed at The Lunchbox losing out in Oscar nomination race

New Delhi: Actor Irrfan Khan, who plays the lead in Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox, today expressed his disappointment with the jury’s decision of not choosing the film as India’s official entry for the Oscars next year, saying “they should have done a good job”. Irrfan, 46, who also co-produced the critically acclaimed movie, said it had the capacity to connect with the world audience. [caption id=“attachment_1151303” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Courtesy: ibn live[/caption] “Whatever the responsibility of the body is, they should have done a good job. I am just disappointed as it was a film with a new language and has the capacity to connect with the world audience. That film was unique in its own way. “If that film would have got proper importance then we should have said that you (jury) are giving right signal to upcoming talents, who are trying to make innovation in film language. ‘Madras Cafe’ and ‘Ship of Theseus’ are also the films with new language. They also have the capability to connect with the universal audience,” Irrfan told PTI. The Film Federation of India-appointed committee, which was headed by veteran filmmaker Goutam Ghose, chose Gujarati film “The Good Road” for Oscars 2014. Irrfan is not the only member from the film who has expressed his disappointment. Producers Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar and director Batra had lashed out at the selection committee for their decision. The actor was in the capital to launch a book by Secretary of Gujarat Tourism Vipul Mittra – ‘The Dream Chasers’. Irrfan also feels that he is chasing his dreams with each of his film projects. “We all are dream chasers. I am delighted that Vipulji called me to introduce his book to the world. When I read the book it reminded me of my days in NSD (National School of Drama). I am jealous of writers like him because I lost many girlfriends as I couldn’t express my feelings beautifully in love letters,” he said. With “The Lunchbox”, the National-award winning actor had also made a comeback to the romance genre after the 2009 film “Billu”. “I always wanted to do love stories as I didn’t get much chance to do a romantic film. My idea of romance is completely different. I did ‘The Lunchbox’ because I knew that I will be able to touch many hearts with my film,” he said. The film is a romantic sojourn of a cynical government employee, who falls in love with a lonely housewife via exchange of letters hidden inside wrong delivery of lunchbox. PTI