Wrong Movies Are Being Sent For The Oscars From India, Says AR Rahman

This year, Naatu Naatu from RRR won Best Original Song for composer MM Keeravaani and lyricist Chandrabose and the Netflix film, The Elephant Whisperers, won Best Documentary Short

Nivedita

Updated on: 17 March 2023 4:45 am

A R Rahman receives special tribute at 43rd Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF).

Acclaimed Indian music composer AR Rahman, who won his Oscar in 2009 along with lyricist Gulzar and sound designer Resul Pookutty for their work on Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, says that India hasn't been sending the right kinds of films to the Academy Awards to get noticed.

In an interview conducted in January, Rahman had told musician L Subramaniam, “Sometimes, I see that our movies go till the Oscar… they don’t get it. Wrong movies are being sent for the Oscars. And I am just like DON’T. We have to be in another person’s shoes. I have to be in Westerner’s shoes to see what’s happening here. I have to be in my shoes to see what they are doing.” Rahman's conversation with the renowned violinist is now out on the Oscar winner's YouTube channel.

After his Oscar wins in 2009, Rahman was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) which hosts the ceremony. The singer-composer is a regular voter and has been watching the films that qualify and get nominated.

In 2011, Rahman was nominated once again for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for Danny Boyle's 127 Hours. This year, the composer has scored the music on Rajkumar Santoshi's Gandhi Godse – Ek Yudh.

This year, two Indian films, one in Telugu and another in Tamil, won in the categories they were nominated in. Naatu Naatu from RRR won Best Original Song for composer MM Keeravaani and lyricist Chandrabose, just like Rahman and Gulzar won in 2009 for the song Jai Ho. The Netflix film, The Elephant Whisperers, won Best Documentary Short. Director Kartiki Gonsalves and producer Guneet Monga went up on stage to receive the award.