Paheli is India's Oscar entry!

Yes, that's correct! Even I was dumbstruck at this choice.

The other choices for the committee were Mangal Pandey, Veer-Zaara, Iqbal, Swades, Parineeta, Page 3, Black, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Sachein (Tamil), Anniyan (Telugu), Uttarayan (Marathi), Achuvante Anna (Malayalam), Graham (Telugu), and Kadal (Tamil). To be fair to the regional movies, I cannot comment on them since I have neither seen nor read about them. But I am very very surprised that Paheli actually managed to win over Swades and Black!

Let me give Amol Palekar the credit--Paheli was quite an entertaining movie, with a damper of a climax. The attempt was very bold, and as the committee remarked, the film is refreshingly colourful. The film will be a treat to foreign audiences who are looking for a good film visually depicting the ancient Indian society. But beyond that, does the movie really have cinematographic value? Does the movie tell a compelling story? I think not.

Swades was clearly better than Paheli, with its stirring story and honest acting. True, not many non-Indian audiences may get the message, but then how many Americans truly appreciated Devdas for its legendary story rather than the sets and the two beauties?

I had almost bet my money that Black would be nominated though, and I genuinely think I am not alone! Did the committee just arbitrarily decide it cannot nominate films by the same director two years in a row? The movie was superlative in every sense--very moving story, which I may add, has a global audience, amazing performances and full of cinematographic value. SLB had truly sketched a masterpiece and with Amitabh Bachchan's riveting performance, there weren't many ways that the movie couldn't impress someone. The movie did have its brief audience-winning melodramatic moments, but overall it was miles ahead of any other movie made this year! As I said before, the biggest plus of Black was that it was very easy for a non-Indian audience member to appreciate its story. Superior in story, exemplary direction, and the potential to get through to a global audience--what else did Black have to do to get to the Oscars?

Keeping in mind the amusement I experienced while seeing Paheli, I cannot help but feel disappointed by the choice of Paheli to represent us at the Oscars. Black was the clear choice here, and a movie is again being punished for its non-glamorous look. I hope that does not discourage SLB from making such masterpieces in future. SLB, I am truly a great fan of your artistic work in Khamoshi and Black, please continue treating us with your brand of non-glamorous, stirring story-telling.