I don’t care about the Oscars: Naseeruddin Shah on Court

Trust actor Naseeruddin Shah to call a spade a spade. The veteran has said that he cannot understand Indian filmmakers’ fascination for Oscars.

Trust actor Naseeruddin Shah to call a spade a spade. The veteran has said that he cannot understand Indian filmmakers’ fascination for Oscars. Appreciation from the audience, he said, should matter the most instead.

Gitanjali Kulkarni and Vivek Gomber play lawyers in Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court

Court, a multi-lingual drama by debutant director Chaitanya Tamhane, has been selected to officially represent India in the Best Foreign Film category at the 88th Oscars next year.

India has never won an Oscar in the category. The last Indian film that made it to the final five list was Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan. Mother India and Salaam Bombay are the other two Indian films to have made it to the top five.

Watch: Court trailer

“I don’t really care about the Oscars. I don’t know why we (Indian film industry) hanker after this Oscar business. I do feel Court is one of the finest films. It is the best film in recent times,” Shah told reporters here when asked about its chances at the Oscars.

Read: Court review -- This is a brilliant critique of Indian judiciary

“I think it should be enough for makers of Court that the film has been liked and much appreciated in our own country and that is what matters,” Shah said.

Court is inspired by the real life story of a folk singer Jiten Marandi, who got embroiled in a criminal case after a bomb blast.