By:
Subhadeep
Bhattacharjee
Friday,
September
28,
2007
The
Vidhu
Vinod
Chopra
directed
Eklavya
-
The
Royal
Guard
has
been
nominated
as
India's
official
entry
into
the
Oscars
amidst
controversy.
It
will
compete
with
others
movies
in
Best
Foreign
Language
category
in
the
80th
Academy
Awards.
This
is
not
the
first
time
that
the
director
has
been
nominated
for
the
Academy
Awards.
He
made
his
debut
with
a
non-fiction
films
An
Encounter
With
Faces
way
back
in
1980
and
in
the
year
1989
his
movie
Parinda
was
India's
official
nomination
to
the
awards.
Eklavya
is
a
movie
about
a
royal
guard
Eklavya
(Amitabh
Bachchan)
whose
family
has
guarded
the
Kings
of
Devigarh
for
nine
generations.
The
purpose
of
his
life
is
to
protect
the
Devigarh
dynasty
and
all
their
royal
secrets
which
will
die
with
him
on
his
funeral
pyre.
The
heir
to
the
throne
Prince
Harshvardhan
(Saif
Ali
Khan)
goes
to
London
unable
to
adjust
with
the
age
old
customs
and
traditions.
He
returns
for
the
funeral
of
his
mother
Queen
Suhasinidevi
(Sharmila
Tagore).
The
entire
kingdom
is
overjoyed
with
the
return
of
their
prince
so
is
his
mentally
challenged
twin
sister,
Princess
Nandini
(Raima
Sen).
The
movie
also
shows
the
romantic
side
of
the
prince
and
his
love
for
his
childhood
sweetheart
Rajjo
(Vidya
Balan).
He
faces
challenges
in
the
kingdom
as
injustice
is
being
done
to
the
farmers
and
their
lands
begin
taken
away
by
king
Rana
Jaywardhan
(Boman
Irani)
along
with
his
brother
Rana
Jyotiwardhan
(Jackie
Shroff).
The
young
prince
receives
a
threat
call
over
the
phone
and
Pannalal
Chauhan
(Sanjay
Dutt)
investigates
the
threat
to
the
king.
In
the
mean
time
many
of
the
secrets
of
the
dynasty
are
being
revealed.
The
nomination
is
facing
its
share
of
controversy
as
the
critics
are
banking
on
the
fact
that
movie
doesn't
deserve
a
nomination
as
it
could
not
run
successfully
in
its
own
country.
Eklavya
faced
stiff
competition
from
Chak
De!
India,
Gandhi,
My
Father
and
Dharm.
It
has
become
a
routine
affair
in
India
with
the
nominations
every
year.
Last
year
there
was
controversy
when
Rang
De
Basanti
was
nominated
ahead
of
Laage
Raho
Munna
Bhai.
The
later
that
went
into
the
awards
as
an
unofficial
entry.
In
the
year
2005
there
was
a
row
when
Paheli
was
nominated
ahead
of
Black.
The
nominations
to
the
awards
Best
Foreign
Film
category
have
some
strict
guidelines
to
follow.
The
movie
needs
to
be
in
the
regional
language
of
that
country
which
can
be
Hindi
or
any
other
regional
language.
The
movie
needs
to
portray
the
local
customs
and
traditions
and
speak
about
that
country.
Eklavya
stands
up
on
both
these
criteria
and
thus
is
a
perfect
nomination
for
the
Oscars.
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