It is a hat trick for Aamir Khan. After Lagaan and Rang De Basanti , Taare Zameen Par has been selected as India’s official entry for The Oscars.
“I am very happy that Taare Zameen Par has been selected to represent India at an international forum. I hope it will create a very strong impact on the members. I do not know if the film will be nominated in the top five films. But I am hoping that it will be liked by the members there. I am happy that the film will showcase Indian cinema to the world,” said an overwhelmed Aamir.
It can be recalled that Aamir went out of the way to promote Lagaan when it was selected for The Oscars. So what will the strategy be this time? “I will do whatever I can for the film so that it gets the right platform. I will see to it that it is presented well to the jury members. I will fulfill my responsibilities that I have of the film. I believe that the Indian media plays a very important part for the film. It helped in creating a very strong impact on the Indian audiences and will help in the Oscar journey as well.”
Continuing in the same veil he said, “A certain amount of awareness needs to be created in Los Angeles, New York, London where the members are there. This will help in getting their interest towards the film to see it. Also, like I did for Lagaan , I will hold additional screenings of Taare Zameen Par for the members as there is just one official screening. I will make sure that there are ads in the local newspapers informing about the screenings. I will hire a PR there as well who will show the film to journalists there which will help in creating awareness.”
According to Aamir, it is the audience and not the awards that matter the most. “I make film for the audiences who spend their money to see the film. If the audiences like the film, it is the biggest award for me. As far as the international forums such as the Oscars are concerned, they are secondary for me.”
Aamir is keeping his fingers crossed at the moment. “If we are nominated in the top five, it will be a window of opportunity to showcase Indian cinema to reach a larger audience who normally do not see Indian films. I hope that happens. It is very difficult to be nominated as films from all around the world are sent. Irrespective of whether we win or not, one thing is sure that we will surely make the jury members cry with Taare Zameen Par .”
Aamir is currently shooting for Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots in Shimla with Kareena Kapoor, Madhavan and Sharman Joshi. So will Taare Zameen Par being sent to the Oscar affect Idiots ? “No not at all. I just need to go to Los Angeles once for the screening as I am not allowed for the additional screenings that I will hold,” said Aamir while signing off.