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​The Oscar fights never go out of fashion in India. We have not made our mark there yet in spite of many Indian connections with movies like Life of Pi and <keyword id="32892" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Slumdog-Millionaire">Slumdog Millionaire</keyword>. But when it comes to selecting India’s official entry for the Foreign Language Film category at the <keyword id="9344" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Academy-Awards">Academy Awards</keyword>, the heat is full on. This time, there were as many as 22 contenders and some entries like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, English Vinglish, Celluloid, Shabdo, Ship of Theseus and <keyword id="6354603" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Kamal-Haasan">Kamal Haasan</keyword>’s Vishwaroopam created a lot of buzz. But the final battle royal seemed to have boiled down to just two – Mumbaikar <keyword id="1539946" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ritesh-Batra">Ritesh Batra</keyword>’s <keyword id="1678680" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="The-Lunchbox">The Lunchbox</keyword> and Goa-born <keyword id="1602536" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gyan-Correa">Gyan Correa</keyword>’s <keyword id="1602537" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="The-Good-Road">The Good Road</keyword>. However, The Lunchbox lost to The Good Road, which earlier bagged the national award for the best Gujarati feature film. Correa’s flick was picked by a 19-member jury, appointed by the <keyword id="291689" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Film-Federation-of-India">Film Federation of India</keyword> (FFI). 
 
What they tweeted 
A Press release said the decision had been unanimous, but congratulatory and disgruntled tweets followed. Here’s a look at some of the significant ones. 
 
Gujarat chief minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>: Delighted to know that Gujarati film The Good Road has been chosen to represent India at Oscars. My best wishes. 
 
<keyword id="7929" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anurag-Kashyap">Anurag Kashyap</keyword> (the film-maker co-produced The Lunchbox with <keyword id="197931" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Guneet-Monga">Guneet Monga</keyword>): Feeling very, very disappointed, can’t comment on the film I have not seen, but it better make it to final five… I don’t know who the federation is. But it goes to show, why we completely lack the understanding to make films that can travel across borders… I hope and pray I am wrong and it actually is a film that knocks the socks off everyone… We should then make a clean policy, you want to send the best film, then send the national award winner. Or send the one most likely to win... Anyway, disappointment and anger aside… let’s go back to make cinema… 
 
<keyword id="3778" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karan-Johar">Karan Johar</keyword> (The director-producer turned presenter for The Lunchbox): Really shocked and disappointed… #LUNCHBOX had every factor working in its favour... we may have just lost our golden chance… SAD!!! 
 
Ritesh Batra (Director, The Lunchbox): Congrats to The Good Road. Hope it makes it all the way, else it will be a lost chance by FFI-appointed jury that lacks vision. Hope I am wrong… 
 
The Good Road and The Lunchbox: Head-to-head 
Some industry experts are not too enthusiastic and feel that The Lunchbox would have been a better Oscar choice for several reasons. So here is a head-to-head for our readers, along with some lesser-known facts. 
 
Auteur cinema is gaining prominence. Written by Correa himself, The Good Road is a documentary-style collage of stories woven around the highway where the protagonists lose their way, struggle on their personal quests and evolve in a way that touches the heart. The Lunchbox, on the other hand, brings to life the ever-present Mumbai dabbawalas (tiffin carriers) and a bitter-sweet story of bonding that starts with a misplaced lunchbox (according to a Harvard University study, the delivery system is so excellent that just one in a million lunch boxes will go to a wrong address). Each film reflects its director’s vision instead treading the beaten path. 
 
Both Correa and Batra did it hands-on. It was real-life research for both the directors. Correa got into a truck and went on a journey, getting to the core of things before he created his story. Batra worked as a <keyword id="415857" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dabbawala">dabbawala</keyword> for a week to get the hang of it. 
 
But they come from different industries. That’s right. Batra studied Economics and worked as a consultant for Deloitte. He left the job to join the Graduate Film Program at New York University, but dropped out after a year and a half due to fund crunch. Correa is from the advertising space but decided to have a go at film-making. 
 
In spite of debacle, The Lunchbox gets a bite of the global pie. According to media reports, it has already been sold to 30 different territories globally and could be the first Indian film with 3 foreign producers – ASAP Films of France, Rohfilm of Germany and Cinemosaic of America, along with <keyword id="66984" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="NFDC">NFDC</keyword>, Sikhya <keyword id="4578" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="entertainment">Entertainment</keyword>, Dharma Productions and DAR Films from India. It can also be the first Indian movie to be released across 100 screens in Germany. Incidentally, the film was made on a shoestring budget of $1.5 million. On the other hand, NFDC produced The Good Road, but it doesn’t have an <keyword id="1878880" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="American-distributor">American distributor</keyword> yet. 
 
But what about Oscar compatibility? The Lunchbox might have got a favourable push at the Oscars, had it been chosen. For one, <keyword id="16207" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Irrfan-Khan">Irrfan Khan</keyword> is a familiar name (his roles in The Warrior, Mighty Heart, Slumdog Millionaire and The Amazing Spider-man certainly helped) and the movie has already received some rev reviews at Cannes, Telluride, Toronto and India. Moreover, <keyword id="6411012" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sony-Pictures">Sony Pictures</keyword> Classics will be distributing the film in the US and that could have been another plus. The Good Road has one Oscar connection, though. Its sound designer Resul Pookutty has already won an Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire in 2009. 
 
Bottom line: Till date, only three <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> movies made it to the nomination stage of the Oscar. These include Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957), <keyword id="7999" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mira-Nair">Mira Nair</keyword>’s Salaam Bombay (1988) and <keyword id="17233" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ashutosh-Gowariker">Ashutosh Gowariker</keyword>’s Lagaan (2001). The Good Road belongs to the art house pack, but going by the poor track record of other ‘arty’ films (Salim Ahamed’s Abu, Son of Adam in 2011, <keyword id="82569" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Anusha-Rizvi">Anusha Rizvi</keyword>’s Peepli Live in 2010 and <keyword id="33044" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Kalpana-Lajmi">Kalpana Lajmi</keyword>’s Rudaali in 1993), will Gollywood’s (a concoction of Gujarat and Bollywood) tryst with Oscar produce something more fruitful this time? Also, will it be possible for the Lunchbox team to push the movie at the Oscars even without the government’s backing? Let us wait and watch how ‘independent’ our independent cinema is in reality. 
 
With additional input from Agencies 
Image courtesy: Indiatimes

‘Good Road’ Tops India’s Oscar Race; Will ‘Lunchbox’ Get The Global Pie?

By Radhika Sharma New Delhi, Jun 11 () The world may get a booster for the coronavirus in a year or so, but patriarchy can't be cured with a vaccine, says Shaan Vyas, director of the short film "Natkhat", starring Vidya Balan. With the runtime of 33 minutes, the short, co-written by Annukampa Harsh and Vyas, follows a child named Sonu who is growing up in a home with men who espouse the "boys will be boys" line of thought, except his mother (Balan). "The child starts picking up things from his immediate environment more than he does from school," the director said of the film which explores gender inequality, inappropriate behaviour, and domestic violence through a story-within-a-story narrative. In 2018, Vyas said, there was a spate of gangrapes in the country which flooded the news cycle, but there was one incident that "ticked" him off. "I don't want to single out the incident but I was really angry. In my own naive way, I was trying to figure out a solution to what I can do around it," he told in an interview over phone from Mumbai. In his research, the 35-year-old said, he found that the law reforms were largely for the gangrape victims. "There will be a vaccine for coronavirus sooner or later but there's no vaccine for patriarchy. I felt the solution was for the change to begin at home," the filmmaker, who has produced films like "The Lunchbox", "Masaan" and Oscar winner short doc "Period. End of Sentence", for Sikhya Entertainment, added. Vyas said initially when he was writing the short alone, he came up with a "very male draft", but after Harsh came on board, "Natkhat" became a "gender equal" film. "It was a very dry, skeletal draft. Anukampa gave the film its heart and soul. It appeared more like a man writing about masculinity but missing the female perspective on oppression. We sort of balanced our energies from right the very beginning," the Mumbai-based producer said. Last year, director Taika Waititi used a child at the centre of his directorial "Jojo Rabbit", an anti-war satire set in Nazi Germany, to underscore the horrors of blind nationalism. Similarly, Vyas said he chose a child to drive the point home. "The society in which our children grow up gives them sensory cues about men being the dominant gender, inequality and discrimination on the basis of colour, which is a very relevant thing today. "The roles, even in schools, are assigned differently to boys and girls. People with power, like cops, politicians, are male. Plus innocence of a child gives you a little freedom in storytelling. Children can believe things at a certain age." Interestingly, child actor Sanika Patel, who Harsh found via Instagram, plays Sonu in the film. "I thought she's recommending Sanika to play the other girls in the film. But Anukampa wanted her for Sonu." Vyas was initially taken aback but it soon felt like a eureka moment as he was apprehensive about teaching a boy the very misbehaviour which the film targets. "I felt now I don't need to teach a boy. The acting process changed with Sanika. We asked her to emulate the boys her age, who are pretty much bullies. So many good things happened because of her. It brought a lot of sensitivity to the film. "Whenever she was acting, she was aware that this is what boys do, which is a bad thing. That 'I will never do this in real life, but I will teach them a lesson and make sure they never do it again'." The title maybe a direct reference to Lord Krishna but the director said the film didn't have that commentary in the beginning. "The mother refers to Sonu as 'Natkhat Lala' and that came from the fact that this is a religious family from north India. It became a function of the fact that character inhabit that phrase more than a direct reference about Lord Krishna." Sonu's life in the film mirrors the story his mother conjures up to make his child aware about the dangers of patriarchy. Vyas said they initially wanted to root the story in mythology but since nothing fit, they decided to create their own story. "It was again Annukampa who came up with the use of existing fantasy element tropes of kings and queens, which made the story children friendly." Other than Sonu, every character in the family is identified as in relation to the child. "Women in our countries are not really called by their names, more by their roles, so this was another conscious decision. We had names for the characters in the script but the opportunity to name them while shooting didn't arise. It sometimes becomes tricky to write names while writing dialogues," he added. Balan, who turned producer with "Natkhat", brought a mass appeal to the film, the filmmaker said. RSVP's Ronnie Screwvala is also attached as co-producer. "Having her onboard as an actor and a producer makes the film accessible to a wide range of audience," he said. The film doesn't stop at lip service with an apology from the child - potential bully-turned-empowered young person - but goes one step ahead showing him implement the change he is now driven to see. "I think the difference between intention and action is something most men struggle with a lot. As a man, when I was writing the script, I felt saying 'sorry' should be enough. It was contested very ably by Annukampa that 'No, sorry is not enough'." Vyas is working on another short which he wrote under lockdown. "I would love to keep producing as well as empowering other voices," he added. RDS BK BK

There's no vaccine for patriarchy: 'Natkhat' director Shaan Vyas

Skye Gould/Tech InsiderA pile of my mom's advice letters.One day in 2003, when I was in 6th grade, my mom put a letter in my lunchbox with some advice on it. "Don't be quick to judge the girls at school - it's up to you to look for something good in each one." My mom, Stephanie Skylar, was the Executive VP and Director of Marketing for Chief Super Market Inc., a local grocery chain in Lima, Ohio. She worked long and difficult hours and was looking for a way to stay connected to me. As an 11-year-old learning how to navigate the scary waters of female friendships, this written encouragement instantly helped give me confidence. After that first letter, we agreed upon the rules of our project. My mom would write a letter each night (sometimes pre-writing a few if she was going to be out-of-town) and I would keep the notes safely inside a Skechers' shoebox. Throughout the year, I collected over 100 'lunchbox letters,' filled with my mom's wisdom that would guide me through my adolescence and into my adulthood.More than a decade later, when I was completing my masters project at Ohio University, I created <a href="http://www.advicefrommymom.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a website showcasing all of the letters</a> in chronological order and paired it with my commentary. These are some of my favorites:

My mom wrote me over 100 'lunchbox letters' when I was a kid - and 15 years later, I've realized her advice still works

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A viral video on TikTok shows an alien-looking shark egg found on a California beach.</li><li>The corkscrew-shaped egg came from a California horn shark, the TikTok user said. </li></ul>A Tiktoker's viral video shows a fascinating discovery: an alien-looking, spiral shark egg and the tiny, moving embryo inside. TikToker @California.Shelling posted the <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@california.shelling/video/7236115372263460139?_r=1&amp;_t=8caFRBjvu5T">video</a> showing off the unique find earlier this week. She wrote that she found it washed up on a California beach and wanted to answer questions people had. In the video, she shows the egg — which she says came from a California horn shark — is pliable and squishy but will harden over time.At one point in the video, the camera gets close enough to the egg casing to see the tiny, wriggling embryo inside. David Ebert, the program director of California's Pacific Shark Research Center at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, told <a href="https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/picture-of-the-week-horn-shark-egg-case/">Science Friday</a> that the shark egg casing "usually firms up relatively quickly."While that shark pup is on its own until hatching, Ebert told Science Friday the egg comes with "a little lunchbox of nutrients that the developing embryo will grow off of."That "lunchbox" should last until the shark hatches, according to the <a href="https://marinesanctuary.org/blog/sea-wonder-horn-shark/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Marine Sanctuary Foundation</a>."Every egg case contains one shark pup, which takes between six and nine months to hatch depending on environmental conditions and genetics," the foundation said. Plenty of TikTok users had questions about the odd corkscrew shape of the egg, but it does have a purpose.Female horn sharks can lay eggs every 11 to 14 days, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation said, and the eggs are protected by that corkscrew-shaped casing. The twisting shape allows the female shark to "wedge" eggs "into small cracks and crevices in the environment to hide them from potential predators," the foundation said. At the end of the video, the TikToker put the egg in a rocky tide pool, hoping it would stay safe until hatching.

TikToker finds alien-looking shark egg with a tiny, moving embryo inside at the beach

Coimbatore, Apr 16 (): The local chapter of theHindu Economic Forum (HEF) has handed over to Tamil NaduMinister S P Velumani one lakh washable, reusable face masksmeant for workers combating coronavirus.The masks from export quality performance fabric wouldbe distributed among the police, conservancy workers andothers through the state government, its secretaryPalaniappan Shanmugham said in a press release on Thursday.HEF is a pan-India organisation with chapters in allmajor cities. The Coimbatore chapter is headed by Arya VaidyaPharmacy managing director Dr P R Krishnakumar Warrier.During this current crisis, the chapter is running twocentral kitchens, in association with Sreevatsa Lunchbox andCMS Trust, and serves 1,500 meals per day to migrants andneedy people In association with the revenue authorities, the foodwould be served till the lockdown is lifted and plans todistribute a total of 50,000-60,000 meals during this period,he said. NVMSNVG NVG

Hindu Economic Forum donates masks for COVID-19 workers

Mistakes by the US's top spies allowed China to turn a deadly mid-air collision into an intelligence coup

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>In 2003, Skye Gould was in 6th grade at North Middle School in Lima, OH. Her mom, Stephanie Skylar, was a working mom; at the time she was the Executive VP and Director of Marketing of Chief Super Market Inc., a grocery store chain in Ohio.Gould, eleven at the time, was at the age where kids start to be hyper-aware of their parents involvement, whether it's making special snacks for the class or being appointed a "homeroom mom."Because Skylar worked full-time, she felt that she might be letting Gould down; that she couldn't do everything other parents might have been able to do. This began their special mother-daughter tradition: Lunchbox Letters.For the majority of school days in Gould's 6th grade year, Skylar would leave a note in her daughter's lunchbox. The notes touched on whatever had been going on that day - a quiz, or karate class, or babysitting.Some of the letters were emotional; Skylar was tasked with explaining difficult concepts to her young daughter, helping her prepare for a world that was not always kind or fair.Gould, who is now 23 and the associate graphic designer at Business Insider, kept each one of these letters in pristine condition in a Sketchers shoe box.For her masters project at the School of Visual Communication in the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University, she created a website - <a href="http://www.advicefrommymom.com/">Advice from my Mom</a> - showcasing the letters and Gould's reflections and commentary on how her mother's words and advice have impacted her over the last decade.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>Skylar knew her daughter had saved the letters, and that they would somehow be incorporated into her masters project, but had no idea what the project truly entailed until <a href="http://www.advicefrommymom.com/">Gould unveiled it to her this past April.</a> She was truly touched."I was overcome with pride and love for my daughter," Skylar told Business Insider. "I broke down crying when I saw it.""My mom wrote me these letters because she believed in the person that I was always meant to be," Gould writes on the <a href="http://www.advicefrommymom.com/">Advice from my Mom</a> site. "I am eternally grateful for these reminders."Gould helped us select some of her favorite notes, each of which include a piece of what is now absolutely timeless advice from her mother. <a href="http://www.advicefrommymom.com/">You can also visit her site to see all of the letters here</a> and visit her project's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lunchboxletters?fref=ts">Facebook page.</a>

11 years ago, a mom wrote one letter a day to her daughter to help her through 6th grade - and her advice is timeless

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>This year's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jurassic-world-is-third-highest-grossing-movie-ever-2015-7">box-office hit</a> "Jurassic World," was made as a <a href="http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Jurassic-Park-Sequels-Factor-Jurassic-World-Here-Why-71160.html">direct sequel to the original 1993 film</a>.The film brought the dinosaur theme park John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) envisioned in the '90s to life.It turns out there's a lot more linking the two films.Director Colin Trevorrow spoke with the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BFoF2dbap8">Jurassic Cast podcast</a>, revealing how one single quote from Jeff Goldblum's&#xa0;character Ian Malcolm inspired the basis for all of "Jurassic World." <a href="http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/615237-colin-trevorrow-reveals-the-jurassic-park-quote-that-inspired-the-jurassic-world-sequel#/slide/1">Comingsoon.net reported on the podcast first</a>.&#xa0;"'Jurassic World' is all based on Ian Malcolm's quote, 'You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could, and before you even knew what you had, you patented it, and packaged it, and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now you wanna sell it,'" said Trevorrow. "That to me is 'Jurassic World.' That's why I had all the product placement. That's what it was."Trevorrow also went on to talk a little bit about the impending sequel, "Jurassic World 2," which he is currently writing."It will get to be a different kind of film," added Trevorrow. "The audience has given us permission to a certain extent to take this to the next level, and I don't necessarily mean in scale, I feel very strongly that it's not about more dinosaurs or bigger and better dinosaurs, it's about using this as a starting point for a much larger story about our relationship with these animals and about animals in general and the dynamic created by bringing them back to life."Trevorrow went on to say Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard&#xa0;are expected to reprise their roles as Owen and Claire, respectively."Jurassic World 2" is set <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jurassic-world-out-june-2018-2015-7">for a June 22, 2018</a> release.You can listen to the podcast via Jurassic Cast below.&#xa0;You can hear Trevorrow discuss Malcolm's quote around the 10 minute mark.<div></div>&#xa0; <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/original-1993-jurassic-park-cast-jurassic-world-2015-6">WHERE ARE THEY NOW? The original 1993 'Jurassic Park' cast today</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="lreW9sdTqVBD8EAAS-i7IKuTL21tIAYh" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

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