Will Elizabeth be able to assert her will on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Oscar night this year? That question won't be answered until the third week of March, but January 24 could provide a clear pointer. That's the day the Los Angeles-based Hollywood Foreign Press Association gives away the coveted Golden GlobesShekhar Kapur's critically acclaimed, pulsating historical epic has been nominated in three categories: best film, best director and best actress. The Golden Globes may, as they so often do, presage the Academy's voting mood.
But the competition for Kapurthe Mumbai film industry's most successful export everwill be stiff. In contention for a best director Golden Globe are Steven Spielberg for his powerful anti-war statement, Saving Private Ryan; Robert Redford for the gentle but engaging The Horse Whisperer; Peter Weir for the thematically startling The Truman Show and John Madden for his innovative view of the Bard of Avon, Shakespeare in Love, which has two things in common with Elizabeth: the character of the Virgin Queen and rising star Joseph Fiennes. Kapur, whose eagerly-awaited period drama was premiered in India on the opening night of the 30th International Film Festival of India, knows how tough the going could get in LA: If I win against such a formidable field, it'd be great. But let's be realistic, it won't be easy.
True. Apart from the sheer quality of the contenders, Kapur may have to reckon with a set of prejudices that Elizabeth might have provoked in the world's filmmaking nerve-centre. Elizabeth is an irreverent film, shot in a style Americans aren't too comfortable with, says Kapur. It's too dramatic, too volatile, it doesn't have the formal discipline of the typical historical epic. But that isn't worrying him. I'm happy that the film has got this far. I'm on to my next project, he says, with the confidence that comes naturally to a man who's aware that he's proved his point, awards or no awards.
Kapur has achieved what no Indian filmmaker before him had even dreamt of. He's broken into the global mainstream with a $15 million film that has wowed the critics worldwide, and sent cash counters jingling. Elizabeth was, at best, expected to be an arthouse phenomenon in the US. Surprisingly, it has broken out of the mould and is a hit, says Kapur. A Golden Globe, or better still an Oscar, if it does come, will be the icing on the cake: a stamp of approval from his global peers.
But weigh the odds stacked against him: Elizabeth, produced by Polygram Filmed Entertainment, England, lacks the backing of a giant Hollywood studio; since the name of the director is clearly not Anglo-Saxon, the film will be seen as a 'foreign' product; add to that its defiantly individualistic attributes and it is obvious why Kapur's film might not turn out to be a popular choice. Not surprising, since the film did not attract rave reviews in the US as it did in the UK. The problem that the American press had with Elizabeth was that it didn't have the basic structure of the epic period costume drama, he says.
What might go against Elizabeth, says Janet Fine of New York's Video Age International magazine, is the fact that it has been overhyped. The glowing reviews have raised expectations to an unrealistic level. One must remember, Fine points out, that the Academy is a conservative body, made up, as it is, of li'l old ladies who aren't enamoured of non-American directors. So even if Elizabeth does win Golden Globes, Kapur can't be sure of bagging any Academy awards. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, given the profile of its membership, is often adventurous in the way it votes, but the Academy isn't, says Fine.
But she believes that Kapur has all the makings of a director who could, in the long run, endear himself to the American filmmaking establishment. He might not win this time, but I'm sure he'll bag an Oscar some day. May be with Mandela: The Long Walk Home, says Fine. Indeed, with Morgan Freeman in the cast and a real-life tale of heroism in the face of daunting odds as its thematic core, Kapur's next project, entailing an investment of $50 million, could, a la Sir Richard Attenborough's Gandhi, hit the jackpot at the Oscars.
Until then, Kapur is showing no signs of impatience. I know, says he, that life has given me a rare chance to make a mark as a director on the global scene. I'll try to make the most of it. But will he win? His admirers in India could keep speculating, Kapur isn't letting it all clutter his mind. The walk home might not be too long for Mr India.
