Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker, best known for directing the Oscar-nominated period drama Lagaan, recalled the difficulty he faced in convincing Western audiences to give the film a chance. Addressing a gathering at the recent Ajanta Ellora International Film Festival, the filmmaker spoke about the importance of festivals around the globe, and how screening Lagaan at Locarno eventually helped convince Oscar voters to take it seriously.
He said in a mix of English and Marathi, “At festivals, you can have great discussions, and a collective growth happens. I try to go to as many festivals as I can.” Recalling a story about Lagaan, he said, “So, Lagaan released on June 15. And I wanted the film to play at a festival or two. But we could not debut at (a major) festival. So, which is the next best festival? It happened to be Locarno. We sent the film to Locarno.”
The filmmaker recalled what the festival director told him about the film: “The film is too long, three hours 42 minutes. We cannot have it here. It’s got songs, it’s very commercial, it’s got cricket. Audiences in Locarno only understand football. Your film cannot be shown.” Ashutosh urged the festival director to sample just three scenes from the film, and eventually, she agreed to give it a slot. Lagaan was screened before thousands of people at the festival’s open air venue, with a five-storey screen.
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“The film was a huge success there, in a screening with French, Germans, Italians… They were dancing in the aisles, they were cheering for Bhuvan, they didn’t understand cricket but the film captured their emotions,” he said, adding that after the screening, the festival director hugged him, and said that she was glad that she took a ‘gamble’ on the film.
Ashutosh said that later, during Lagaan’s Oscar campaign, the Locarno honour became a ‘calling card’ for them. “Lagaan’s audience award at Locarno was our biggest support at the Oscars. The Academy didn’t know who these two boys from India are. But our calling card was that the film has won the audience award at Locarno. So, it made people sit up and at least sample the film,” he said. Lagaan remains the last Indian film to earn a nomination in the category formerly known as Best Foreign Language Film, although several Indian films have since been honoured with nominations and awards at the Oscars.
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