Tilt at Oscars ~ Bombay Jayshree and Life of Pi

There is certain craze for the title  ‘Oscar’ in Kollywood ~ for long people have been speaking of a performance worth of Oscar award ! ~ no wonder news is rife of the nomination of Bombay Jayashri.  Bhanu Athaiya  first got one for costume design for 'Gandhi' in 1982, and Satyajit Ray being given an honorary award in 1992. In 2008, AR Rahman,  sound engineer Resul Pookutty and lyricist Gulzar received the award for the film 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

Known as Oscars, it is the ‘Academy Awards’ - a set of awards given annually for excellence of cinematic achievements. The Oscar statuette is officially named the Academy Award of Merit and is one of nine types of Academy Awards, given each year at a formal ceremony. The AMPAS was originally conceived by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio executive Louis B. Mayer as a professional honorary organization to help improve the film industry’s image and help mediate labor disputes. The awards were first given in 1929; the  84th Academy Awards were held on  26/12/2012; the 85th Academy Awards are scheduled to be held on February 24, 2013.

The Indian challenge at this year Oscars has a Chennai connection with classical Carnatic music vocalist Jayashri Ramnath being nominated for writing the Tamil song 'Pi's Lullaby' for director Ang Lee's 'Life of Pi'.  It has been nominated for 'Best Original Song' with Canadian music director Mychael Danna, who has also been nominated for 'Best Original Score' for the same movie. Writing the song was easy, said the singer. "What I wrote is something every mother has on her lips when she cuddles her child," said Jayashri about the short song that uses simple words to show a mother's affection for her child.  Steven Spielberg's American civil war saga 'Lincoln', which leads the pack with 12 nominations, including best director, actor and supporting actress, comes from the Reliance-DreamWorks stable. Anil Ambani is quoted as saying "We are incredibly proud to have partnered with Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider in the making of 'Lincoln'. 'Life of Pi', which received 11 nominations, has an almost entirely Indian cast, led by Sooraj Sharma, and is set in Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry) till it shifts to the churning seas. 

The local media in Chennai has started celebrating the success of Bombay Jayashree’s nomination to Oscar. 

Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. He finds the world he knows swept away when his family sells the zoo and sets sail for Canada with a few of its remaining animals.  He survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Directed by Ang Lee, Life of Pi is a 2012 American adventure drama film based on the novel.   Upon release, Life of Pi was met with critical appreciation and has now earned eleven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture,Best Director, Best Visual Effects, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

The film's musical score was composed by Mychael Danna, who previously wrote the music to Lee's films The Ice Storm and Ride with the Devil. The soundtrack  features "Pi's Lullaby," co-written by Danna and Bombay Jayashri, who performs the song in the Tamil language.  The nomination marks the first ever Tamil language song to be nominated for a Best Original Song Oscar. Jayashri well acclaimed in Carnatic music has sung no. of movie songs too.  Some of her hit nos. include : "Ninnai charan" Bharathi; "Naramugaiye Naramugaiye"       Iruvar; "Vaseegara" Minnale; "Malargale"     Pudhukottayilirundhu Saravanan.

The nominations for the 85th Academy Awards were announced Thursday morning by this year's Oscar host, Seth MacFarlane, and actress Emma Stone.  Academy members from each of the branches vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories - actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, etc.  Official screenings of all motion pictures with one or more nominations will begin for members on Saturday, Jan. 19, at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Active members of the Academy are eligible to vote for the winners in all categories.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

So wishing Bombay Jayashri an Oscar in Feb 24, 2013.  Incidentally, Jayashri, known as Bombay Jayashri was born in Kolkatta and grew up in Mumbai. Jayashri has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from R.A. Podar College, Mumbai. She also has a Diploma in Music from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, New Delhi.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

11^th Jan 2013.