Should Black have been India’s official nomination for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar? I am afraid the answer, for all the world-class trappings that film boasts, is no. Amol Palekar’s infinitely less ambitious Paheli, despite being a commercial washout in the domestic market, is a far better choice in the given circumstances.

What works against Black is that it is derivative in terms of content and style. Powerful as it is, it is a film that could have been made anywhere in the world without anybody noticing the difference. The story of Helen Keller has been successfully told before, both on screen and on the stage.

With Paheli, there are no such worries. It is completely original. Amol Palekar is right. Paheli is ‘Indian’ all the way. It could not, much in the manner of Lagaan and Monsoon Wedding, have emerged from any other nation in the world.

The IFFI jury’s decision to opt for Paheli cannot be faulted. One could argue that a film that hasn’t clicked with the audiences of its own country might find the going really tough when faced with the challenge of wooing Hollywood professionals. But domestic commercial success is no guarantee for a good Oscar showing.

Strictly on merit, Paheli, shorn of formulaic Bollywood conventions and borrowed technical flourishes, is indeed streets ahead of anything else that Indian cinema has thrown up in the last 12 months.

The question is: does Paheli stand a realistic chance of progressing into the short list of five Oscar nominees? It probably doesn’t, but rest assured that it wouldn’t give India a bad name even if it fails to make the grade. It has substance. It has style. And it is culturally rooted. Paheli is a film that India can be proud of.

- Saibal Chatterjee