We all are dream chasers : Irrfan Khan

New Delhi: Actor Irrfan Khan, who plays the lead in Ritesh Batra's 'The Lunchbox', today expressed his disappointment with the jury's decision of not choosing the film as India's official entry for the Oscars next year, saying 'they should have done a good job'.

Irrfan, 46, who also co-produced the critically acclaimed movie, said it had the capacity to connect with the world audience.

"Whatever the responsibility of the body is, they should have done a good job. I am just disappointed as it was a film with a new language and has the capacity to connect with the world audience. That film was unique in its own way."

"If that film would have got proper importance then we should have said that you (jury) are giving right signal to upcoming talents, who are trying to make innovation in film language. 'Madras Cafe' and 'Ship of Theseus' are also the films with new language. They also have the capability to connect with the universal audience," Irrfan told PTI.

The Film Federation of India-appointed committee, which was headed by veteran filmmaker Goutam Ghose, chose Gujarati film 'The Good Road' for Oscars 2014.

Irrfan is not the only member from the film who has expressed his disappointment. Producers Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar and director Batra had lashed out at the selection committee for their decision.

The actor was in the capital to launch a book by Secretary of Gujarat Tourism Vipul Mittra 'The Dream Chasers'.

Irrfan also feels that he is chasing his dreams with each of his film projects. "We all are dream chasers. I am delighted that Vipulji called me to introduce his book to the world. When I read the book it reminded me of my days in NSD (National School of Drama). I am jealous of writers like him because I lost many girlfriends as I couldn't express my feelings beautifully in love letters," he said.

With 'The Lunchbox', the National-award winning actor had also made a comeback to the romance genre after the 2009 film 'Billu'.

"I always wanted to do love stories as I didn't get much chance to do a romantic film. My idea of romance is completely different. I did 'The Lunchbox' because I knew that I will be able to touch many hearts with my film," he said.

The film is a romantic sojourn of a cynical government employee, who falls in love with a lonely housewife via exchange of letters hidden inside wrong delivery of lunchbox.

Not upset over Bhaag Milkha Bhaag losing Oscar nomination race: Farhan Akhtar

Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar is not perturbed about his sports movie 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' (BMB) not going to the Oscars as India's official entry.

'The Good Road', a Gujarati film, has been chosen as India's entry to the 2014 Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

The Gyan Correa-directed movie beat back challenge from Hindi films like 'The Lunchbox' and 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' to represent India at the prestigious award event.

"We made the film the way we wanted to... Audience have liked it too. We are happy. There is a selection committee which decides which film should go (to Oscars)... It is up to them. I am fine with it," Farhan told reporters here today when asked about 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' not making the cut.

The 39-year-old actor is happy to have teamed up with actress Vidya Balan for an upcoming project, 'Shaadi Ke Side Effects'.

"She is a very talented actress. She is doing amazing work since the last 3-4 years and I am sure she will continue to do so. Working with talented people helps you improve and learn new things," he added.

Farhan and his producer-friend Ritesh Sidhwani have been appointed brand ambassadors for a Bollywood portal, Flickbay, a social networking site about Hindi movies.

"Our vision is to make word of mouth on movies matter most. We want to make the lives of moviegoers simpler by providing a one stop shop for everything related to Bollywood. The key feature of Flickbay is that it is a social and interactive website that promotes user generated reviews."

"Its a great medium for people to catch up on the reviews of films and post their comments," Farhan said.

The website features film contents like trailers, songs and video clips among others.

Protests in Gujarat over nomination of 'The Good Road' for Oscars

Ahmedabad: Intellectuals and documentary filmmakers protested at the Sabarmati Ashram over the nomination of the Gujarati film 'The Good Road' as India's Oscar entry this year. The protestors claim the movie shows Gujarat in bad light.

The film is directed by first time filmmaker Gyan Correa and also won National Award for Best Feature Film in Gujarati this year. 'The Good Road' was picked over 'The Lunchbox', 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag', 'Ship of Theseus', 'English Vinglish' and 'Shabdo'.

The film was picked by a committee appointed by the Film Federation of India (FFI), which was led by celebrated Bengali filmmaker Gautam Ghose.

Gyan's 'The Good Road' is a story which is based around Kachchh, Gujarat. It revolves around a journey of three sets of people who travel on a highway, traveling across Banni, which borders the Rann.

THE LUNCHBOX has great chance of winning at Oscars : Karan Johar

Ritesh Batra's THE LUNCHBOX has a great chance of being nominated for the Best Film in a Foreign Language category of the Academy Awards and also winning the Oscar statuette according to Karan Johar, the co-producer and Indian presenter of the film. However, this can only happen if the film gets the nod of those who form the selection committee of the Film Federation of India (FFI) and the umbrella body finally picks up THE LUNCHBOX as India's official Oscar entry.

Karan Johar is quite gung-ho about the film's prospects for the fact that it is a Cannes Critics' Week selection and has big brands of global sales and distribution like The Match Factory. It will also be supported by previous Oscar winners like Marc Baschet and Danis Tanovic who are its co-producers. However, the most crucial factor from Oscar perspective is that the North American distribution rights of THE LUNCHBOX have been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics and they are also looking at the film as a potential Oscar winner and will do their best to publicize and promote it to the voting members of the Academy according to Karan and Guneet Monga.

As a feel-good romantic comedy and a low budget independent film involving common people, the film suits the sensibilities of the Academy members if we go by the list of foreign language Oscar winning films of the past. The reactions to the film after its Cannes Critics' week premiere were quite enthusiastic as well. The Critics' Week director Charles Tesson had described it to a reporter as a film that 'marks a departure from traditional Bollywood melodramas that make up the bulk of Indian production. It's a refreshing and utterly charming comedy that could have been made in Hollywood.'

The reviewers of the leading American film trade magazines had also appreciated it. Michael Barker and Tom Bernard of Sony Pictures Classics had paid glowing tributes to the film and had said, ''THE LUNCHBOX is one of those enchanting movies that will have audiences and critics floating on air. We are so happy to be bringing this movie to the American public. This movie represents the birth of a major international filmmaker.''