Kangana Ranaut’s Bold Claim: The Oscars Are Focusing on Anti-India Narratives!

The world of cinema and its glitzy award functions often reflect not just the filmmaking prowess of a country but how it is seen on the world map. Yet, controversy-scarred actress-director Kangana Ranaut has done it again with some bold statements she made about the selection process of the Oscars. Kangana Ranaut believes that most of the movies nominated or even winning the award in the Best International Film category depict India as a negative and stereotypical state rather than an extremely vibrant and diverse one. She thinks that movies depicting India as being in a very pathetic or a degraded state get preferred over movies portraying its brighter aspects.

The Oscars and India: A Stereotypical Relationship?

These words reflect Kangana Ranaut’s frustration regarding the kinds of movies that tend to appeal to audiences around the world. According to a recent Times Now interview, she was utterly dissatisfied because the films presented with awards such as the Oscars create a “look of a s**thole” for India.

Ranaut, who is known for vocal criticism of Indians in the western media, articulated her views against films like Slumdog Millionaire, for that matter, after it received incredible accolades across the globe yet portrayed a filthy, poor profile for India, where the reality hardly lives through such images at present.

The criticism coming from Ranaut is not just on the content of these movies but also on the agenda that she thinks the Academy and other Western award-giving bodies might have with choosing the films. “For the Oscars, it has to be a film that makes the country look bad,” she says, inferring that the movies selected do not show the country’s real spirit or aspirations.

Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency: A Rally for Indian Stamina and Vigor

Well, unlike the movies she decries, this Kangana starrer Emergency will turn out to be an utterly different movie of a different India, she believes. It is a biographical drama based on the Emergency period (1975-1977), declared by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and the movie is self-sufficing in the sense that Kangana Ranaut performs the role of Indira herself.

Starring with Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade and Mahima Chaudhary, the film goes on to detail a very key moment in India’s history when the country managed to come together during one of its most troubled times.

It is the belief of Kangana Ranaut that Emergency, as a movie, should attract a global audience: “India needs to be treated as a challenged nation that can only get more powerful.”.

“The West is ready to see how India stands today,” she claims, referring to the growing global presence of India in economic and political spheres. She feels that Emergency represents India’s journey and strength, unlike those films she targets for criticism: India’s failure while its victory goes unnoticed.

Breaking Free from Stereotypes: A Call for Representation

While Kangana Ranaut’s opinions are surely very strong, they point towards a larger issue in the global entertainment industry, namely, the lack of nuanced and balanced representations of countries, especially those like India, which have a rich cultural, political, and social history. It cannot be enough that India is showcased through the lens of poverty or religious intolerance, which most of these award-winning films do. A country should be depicted with its complexity, achievements, and its dynamic presence in the world of today.

India is the largest democracy in the world, one of the fastest-growing economies, and as a leader in technology and innovation. It also has a vibrant and diverse film industry that produces movies in a variety of genres. However, when it comes to international recognition, Indian films are mostly channeled into a narrow and negative narrative. Kangana’s statement reflects the fact that although some films could be going global, they may not really represent the current and future trajectory of India.

Kangana Ranaut’s Independence from Award Functions

Although Kangana Ranaut has had her share of issues with the Oscars and awards generally, she was quick to tell me that, on the other hand, she doesn’t much care for praise or recognition of any sort: neither from the West nor the East. The actress has been frank about how she never did care for those awards. Her aim has been to make relevant films —films that question some narratives and facilitate necessary conversations.

Her abhorrence for award functions may have arisen from her previous exposure with Indian award shows that she believes are always politicized and biased. The lack of interest in awards that she maintains on both Indian and international platforms reveals that the value of cinema lies not in the number of trophies it collects but in its ability to evoke thought and change.

Also Read: Priyanka Chopra Enters the Oscar Race as Executive Producer of Anuja!

The Geopolitics of Award Selections: A Larger Conversation

Ranaut touched upon an important aspect of global cinema: geopolitics. Quality filmmaking was not the only criterion for films to be shortlisted for Oscars; it is also about how a country looks on the world stage. That connection between cinema and geopolitics raises questions on the role of cinema in perceptions and narratives, and how that selection process can influence those perceptions.

No longer just fighting for acceptance, it is a battle for honest representation for Kangana Ranaut and filmmakers of this stature. As she brings movies such as Emergency into the screens, Kangana goes against the tide and tells India stories different from those where the struggles were defined by triumph, complexities, and the future potential it can have.

Also Read: Are Shraddha and Aditya Finally Reuniting for a New Love Story?

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