Movies
India’s ‘Court’ to compete with films from 80 countries at Oscars
MUMBAI: India’s official entry to the Oscars – Court – will be competing with films from 80 countries in the Foreign Language Film category for the 88th Academy Awards.
The Oscars have this year received film entries from 81 countries in this category including Paraguay, which is a first-time entrant.
The Marathi language film Court is directed by Chaitanya Tamhane. Giving Court tough competition will also be renowned director Majid Majidi’s Iranian film Muhammad: The Messenger of God, which is Iran’s official entry to the Oscars this year.
On the other hand, Paraguay’s maiden film entry for the Oscars is titled Cloudy Times, directed by Arami Ullón.
The 2015 submissions for the Foreign Language Film category are:
Afghanistan: Utopia directed by Hassan Nazer
Albania: Bota directed by Iris Elezi, Thomas Logoreci
Algeria: Twilight of Shadows directed by Mohamed Lakhdar Hamina
Argentina: The Clan directed by Pablo Trapero
Australia: Arrows of the Thunder Dragon directed by Greg Sneddon
Austria: Goodnight Mommy directed by Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala
Bangladesh: Jalal’s Story directed by Abu Shahed Emon
Belgium: The Brand New Testament directed by Jaco Van Dormael
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Our Everyday Story directed by Ines Tanovic
Brazil: The Second Mother directed by Anna Muylaert
Bulgaria: The Judgment directed by Stephan Komandarev
Cambodia: The Last Reel directed by Sotho Kulikar
Canada: Félix and Meira directed by Maxime Giroux
Chile: The Club directed by Pablo Larraín
China: Go Away Mr. Tumor directed by Han Yan
Colombia: Embrace of the Serpent directed by Ciro Guerra
Costa Rica: Imprisoned directed by Esteban Ramírez
Croatia: The High Sun directed by Dalibor Matanic
Czech Republic: Home Care directed by Slavek Horak
Denmark: A War directed by Tobias Lindholm
Dominican Republic: Sand Dollars directed by Laura Amelia Guzman, Israel Cardenas
Estonia: 1944 directed by Elmo Nüganen
Ethiopia: Lamb directed by Yared Zeleke
Finland: The Fencer directed by Klaus Haro
France: Mustang directed by Deniz Gamze Erguven
Georgia: Moira directed by Levan Tutberidze
Germany: Labyrinth of Lies directed by Giulio Ricciarelli
Greece: Xenia directed by Panos H. Koutras
Guatemala: Ixcanul directed by Jayro Bustamante
Hong Kong: To the Fore directed by Dante Lam
Hungary: Son of Saul directed by Laszlo Nemes
Iceland: Rams directed by Grímur Hákonarson
India: Court directed by Chaitanya Tamhane
Iran: Muhammad: The Messenger of God directed by Majid Majidi
Iraq: Memories on Stone directed by Shawkat Amin Korki
Ireland: Viva directed by Paddy Breathnach
Israel: Baba Joon directed by Yuval Delshad
Italy: Don’t Be Bad directed by Claudio Caligari
Ivory Coast: Run directed by Philippe Lacote
Japan: 100 Yen Love directed by Masaharu Take
Jordan: Theeb directed by Naji Abu Nowar
Kazakhstan: Stranger directed by Yermek Tursunov
Kosovo: Babai directed by Visar Morina
Kyrgyzstan: Heavenly Nomadic directed by Mirlan Abdykalykov
Latvia: Modris directed by Juris Kursietis
Lebanon: Void directed by Naji Bechara, Jad Beyrouthy, Zeina Makki, Tarek Korkomaz, Christelle
Ighniades: Maria Abdel Karim directed by Salim Haber
Lithuania: The Summer of Sangaile directed by Alante Kavaite
Luxembourg: Baby (A)lone directed by Donato Rotunno
Macedonia: Honey Night directed by Ivo Trajkov
Malaysia: Men Who Save the World directed by Liew Seng Tat
Mexico: 600 Miles directed by Gabriel Ripstein
Montenegro: You Carry Me directed by Ivona Juka
Morocco: Aida directed by Driss Mrini
Nepal: Talakjung vs Tulke directed by Basnet Nischal
Netherlands: The Paradise Suite directed by Joost van Ginkel
Norway: The Wave directed by Roar Uthaug
Pakistan: Moor directed by Jami
Palestine: The Wanted 18 directed by Amer Shomali, Paul Cowan
Paraguay: Cloudy Times directed by Arami Ullón
Peru: NN directed by Hector Galvez
Philippines: Heneral Luna directed by Jerrold Tarog
Poland: 11 Minutes directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
Portugal: Arabian Nights – Volume 2, The Desolate One directed by Miguel Gomes
Romania: Aferim! directed by Radu Jude
Russia: Sunstroke directed by Nikita Mikhalkov
Serbia: Enclave directed by Goran Radovanovic
Singapore: 7 Letters directed by Royston Tan, Kelvin Tong, Eric Khoo, Jack Neo, Tan Pin Pin, Boo Junfeng, K. Rajagopal
Slovakia: Goat directed by Ivan Ostrochovsky
Slovenia: The Tree directed by Sonja Prosenc
South Africa: The Two of Us directed by Ernest Nkosi
South Korea: The Throne directed by Lee Joon-ik
Spain: Flowers directed by Jon Garano, Jose Mari Goenaga
Sweden: A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence directed by Roy Andersson
Switzerland: Iraqi Odyssey directed by Samir
Taiwan: The Assassin directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien
Thailand: How to Win at Checkers (Every Time) directed by Josh Kim
Turkey: Sivas directed by Kaan Mujdeci
United Kingdom: Under Milk Wood directed by Kevin Allen
Uruguay: A Moonless Night directed by German Tejeira
Venezuela: Gone with the River directed by Mario Crespo
Vietnam: Jackpot directed by Dustin Nguyen
The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on 14 January, 2016 at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
The 88th Oscars will be held on 28 February, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The Oscar presentation will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
Hindi
Jio Studios, Sanjay Dutt team up to revive Khal Nayak
Rights acquired for new version, format under wraps as remake plans take shape.
MUMBAI: The villain is back and this time, he’s rewriting his own script. Jio Studios has partnered with Three Dimension Motion Pictures and Aspect Entertainment to revive the 1993 cult classic Khal Nayak, marking a fresh chapter for one of Bollywood’s most iconic anti-hero stories. The original film, directed by Subhash Ghai under Mukta Arts, was a commercial and cultural milestone, with Sanjay Dutt’s portrayal of Ballu becoming one of Hindi cinema’s most memorable performances.
Dutt, along with Aksha Kamboj, has now acquired the rights from the original creators, bringing on board Jio Studios and its President Jyoti Deshpande to steer the project creatively.
While the exact format whether remake, sequel, prequel, or a completely new narrative remains undisclosed, the collaboration aims to reinterpret the story for contemporary audiences while retaining the essence that made the original a defining film of the 1990s.
The move taps into a broader industry trend of reviving legacy intellectual property, particularly characters with strong recall value. “Khal Nayak” was notable for pushing mainstream Hindi cinema into morally grey territory at a time when heroes were largely one-dimensional, making Ballu’s character a standout.
The project also marks the film production debut of Aspect Entertainment, signalling a push towards more technology-led storytelling frameworks. Meanwhile, Jio Studios continues to expand its slate, having built a library of over 200 films and series, with more than 60 titles collectively winning 500-plus awards.
For Dutt, the revival is as much personal as it is strategic, a return to a role that reshaped his career. For the industry, it is another sign that nostalgia, when paired with scale, remains a powerful box-office proposition.
Because in Bollywood, some villains never fade, they just wait for the perfect comeback.
