Richly deserves this nomination (Best Non-English Film)... I hope it wins as well!

Well considering that BAFTA has also nominated Amiele for Best Picture along with Beautiful Mind etc.. etc.. it will obviously loose out on that and walk away best picture from the Non-English Langauge Best Picture Award over Monsoon Wedding.

I personally think Lagaan would have been a better choice, as i liked it more than Monsoon Wedding. But I don't think either of these films would have had a chance at these awards ceremony.

I think Monsoon Wedding was more better then Lagaan, and I feel Monsoon wedding has more chances of winning the awards in the UK as the film is a big hit here with non-asian audiences.

the Bafta and golden globe nominations are all the more reason that Monsoon wedding should have been indias choice at the oscars rather than Lagaan....In my opinion Monsoon wedding has more oscar qualities than lagaan....wich basically means oscars are more likely to find Monsoon wedding more derserved than Lagaan

I believe I said this in another post, but here goes:
Monsoon Wedding would not the best choice for India. It is not an Indian film. It's an example of off-beat cinema that's the kind of stuff that Americans expect from foreign cinema. Lagaan, meanwhile, is a very Indian film, and really shows others what Bollywood is all about.

Could someone please explain to me what is Indian cinema. And why is Monsoon Wedding not a representation of the same? Why does only Bollwyood crap, which more times than not, does not even reflect the true Indian society or its values considered to be representative of Indian cinema, while a realistic and at the same time thoroughly entertaining film like Monsoon Wedding is not? Anyhow who decides what is Indian cinema and based on what standards? Monsoon Wedding was Written, Directed, Photographed, Enacted by Indians, the film is shot in India and is about Indians. That in my book makes the film as Indian as any other.
The fact of the matter is that as much as I may have liked Lagaan, Monsoon Wedding is a superior film and therefore not only did it deserve to be the Indian entry to the Oscars, but it also stood a much better chance than Lagaan to atleast get nominated. Lagaan in my opinion does not even stand a chance to get nominated at the Oscars leave alone win, this inspite of what Mr. Aamir Khan would like to believe.

Well, let's put it into this perspective. When you talk to the average American about Indian movies, oftentimes, they'll know Kama Sutra, or maybe Fire. That's it. They think Indian cinema is all this artsy, low on production values, sex-induced industry. Monsoon Wedding is made by Indians, true, but then again, so was The Sixth Sense.

Look at what kind of values Lagaan portrays. Then compare that to Monsoon Wedding.

Monsoon Wedding may be as Indian a film as Lagaan - but I do feel it's about time that India's mainstream genre was taken more seriously around the world. The Academy quite often gives awards to mainstream Hollywood commercial releases e.g. Titanic - so I don't see why not Lagaan. Also,
take a look at the case of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. It's not exactly a down and gritty, realistic film or anything. It's simply a well made commercial film.

Whether or not the Academy would have preferred Monsoon Wedding is another matter. I agree that they would have liked Monsoon Wedding because it reinforces their idea of India and "good" Indian films. But that's just them. It's kind of sickening that India always has to enter films about poverty,
corruption, religious and caste-based bigotry and perversion.
It's not all that India is about. To us, it may seem that Bollywood is overhyped. But really, it is not. Outside India, it's the Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta films which are more talked about in film circles. And Sanjay, much as I respect your sensibility, Lagaan is not a crappy Bollywood affair.

A win for Monsoon Wedding is going to do nothing for Bollywood or India. A win for Lagaan would mean higher quality and more sensible Bollywood films in future - and more crossover films resulting in bigger profits for the industry.

Bollywood's been the underdog for far too long now

hmmm... I am still trying to figure out what is it that I said that would make you think I categorize Lagaan as 'crappy Bollywood fare'. Anyhow to set the record straight I think Lagaan was a great movie and in my opinion the second best film of the year. But that's just it, it was the 2nd best, while Monsoon Wedding I think is the best film. Regardless of other factors, I think the entry to the Oscars should have been purely on merit and not on whether a film represents 'Bollywood' better.
Also what I fail to understand is what is it about Monsoon Wedding that anyone here finds negative. I thouhgt it was a film that brings out the spirit and depth of the Indian culture, with it's positives and negatives. I personally came out of the film with a good feeling about being Indian and nothing in the film made feel embarassed. I totally agree that a lot of supposedly 'good' Indian films in the past have only emphasized the negatives of India and its culture an example of which would be 'Salaam Bombay' but most certainly you cannot say that about 'Monsoon Wedding'.



Edited By Sanjay on Jan. 31 2002 at 09:27