'Sardar Udham' portrays our hatred towards the British: Oscar jury

Days after India's official entry for the Oscars were announced, jury members have explained why one of the most popular contenders was not selected. Talking about Shoojit Sircar's 'Sardar Udham', Indraadip Dasgupta has said that the film 'portrays our hatred towards the British'.

Indraadip Dasgupta, a member of the jury that decided upon the official entry for Oscars this year, told a leading daily, " 'Sardar Udham' is a little lengthy and harps on the Jallianwala Bagh incident. It is an honest effort to make a lavish film on an unsung hero of the Indian freedom struggle. But in the process, it again projects our hatred towards the British. In this era of globalisation, it is not fair to hold on to this hatred."

He added that the film's production lives up to international standards and praised the cinematography of the film as well.

Another member of the jury, Sumit Basu, also said, "Many have loved 'Sardar Udham' for its cinematic quality including camerawork, editing, sound design and depiction of the period. I thought the length of the film was an issue. It has a delayed climax. It takes a lot of time for a viewer to feel the real pain for the martyrs of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre."

Shoojit Sircar's 'Sardar Udham' traces the life and struggles of Sardar Udham Singh, a freedom fighter who is best known for killing Michael O'Dwyer in retaliation for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Udham shot O'Dwyer at Caxton Hall in London when the latter was to speak at a joint meeting of the East India Association and the Central Asian Society.

Their comments have attracted passionate responses from fans online. One of them wrote, " 'Not hold on to this hatred'? Of course, we would not, if you promise to not hold on to Kohinoor and the approximately 45 trillion dollars that was robbed from India."

One fan also wrote, "Whether 'Sardar Udham' deserves an entry or not is a different question, but to dismiss on such grounds displays nothing but racism and power dynamics. Globalisation does not mean we cannot raise our voices against historical injustice anymore. So many socio political movements around the world would cease to exist then."