Filmmaker Nalin Kumar Pandya has been invited to join the Oscars Awards committee. This makes him the first Gujarati to have figure in the esteemed list of jurists. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the body that represents Oscars.
According to the official website: “The Academy has extended invitations to 397 artistes and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures.” This year, actor Tabu, Tamil actor-producer Suriya and critically acclaimed director Reema Katgi also figure in the list.
Talking about his selection, Pandya shared: “I feel honored and empowered. Many years ago, I chose a path less travelled. Today, I am happy with the choice. What I did in my solitude finally echoes in multitudes. Thank you, Academy, for believing in my cinema and encouraging me to go on. I am super excited about this new beginning. A new journey commences today.”
While expressing gratitude to the Academy for selecting him, he also put in rather wistfully: “I was invisible to the rest of India, but very visible to the world. Huge honour, finally what I have been doing alone for 17 years.”
Nalin, a self-taught filmmaker, was born in a remote village of Adtala in Amreli district, Gujarat, India. Until the age of 12, he helped his father sell tea on Khijadiya Junction Railway Station.
As a child, Nalin disliked schools and spent a lot of time on painting and drawing instead. He also actively staged mythological dramas and folk plays. He left his family at a young age in pursuit of cinema. Later, Nalin studied Fine Arts at the M.S. University, Baroda for a year. This was a turning point where he discovered Hollywood movies and world cinema.
Pandya has been selected on the basis of the two films which he directed, Samsara (2001) and his recent Gujarati film, Chhello Show (The Last Film Show) (2021), “which are creative magical moments across the world,” according to the Oscars website.
His movie The Last Film Show, scheduled for a September release in India, became the first Indian movie to be acquired by American studio Samuel Goldwyn Films. “I am super happy that my films are seen worldwide. I am super sad that nobody in India cares for my movies. It is very hard to release them. We are entertainment driven, star driven, industry driven, one kind of cinema,” added Nalin. Ironically, Chhello Show found no distributor in India, even though the film was bagged by the biggest Hollywood distributors ready to market it in more than 40 countries.
He is currently based out of Mumbai.
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