Film producer Vinta Nanda recently voiced her concerns about the “flawed” system surrounding the Oscars’ nomination process on Instagram. She criticised the practice of curators being credited with Oscar nominations and awards, while the efforts of the actual artists and producers behind the films remain overshadowed.
Without naming any specific individuals, she expressed her frustration, writing, “Systems are so flawed now. Curators walk away with the Oscar nominations and awards as producers and the struggle of the artists and their producers is completely eclipsed. What kind of a world are we living in?”
Her post quickly garnered attention, including from filmmaker-actor Ananth Mahadevan, who accused “influential ones” with the right “connections and networking” of benefiting from this system.
Vinta’s comments appeared to be a pointed reference to the film Anuja, which earned a nomination for Best Live Action Short at the 97th Academy Awards.
In an interview with News18 Showsha, Vinta elaborated on her thoughts, saying, “The producers of Anuja are featured nowhere near Guneet Monga (Kapoor) and Priyanka Chopra (Jonas). Theirs are the first two names featured in the list of producers. I’m sure Anuja is a brilliant film much like The Elephant Whisperers. But it’s becoming a norm year after year that after a film gets made, well-recognizable names with great network suddenly come and become producers.”
She continued, “What they’re actually doing is curating and becoming part and parcel of the profits and business of the film. Technically, they aren’t the producers. They shouldn’t be going up on the stage and collecting those awards. People involved with marketing, taking the film from the producers – after it’s ready – to festivals and lobbying, get credit for the film, which they haven’t even partaken in. They should be making sure that the team that has actually produced the film takes the honour.”
She clarified that she wasn’t specifically blaming Guneet Monga or Priyanka Chopra. “No offense to them because they’re brilliant in their own right and have done stellar work in their lives. They’re part of a system that’s so flawed. Why should festivals be seeking their approval? They think the media won’t give them coverage if a Priyanka Chopra doesn’t come on top of the product? I’ve put my post questioning this. What’s happening in the bargain is that real writers, directors and producers don’t come in notice,” Vinta stated.
Vinta also raised concerns about a potential “conflict of interest” in the case of Anuja’s Oscar nomination and Guneet Monga’s involvement with the Academy.
She explained, “The Oscars share a symbiotic relationship with Guneet. She has done some great work and she has brought home the Oscars. Even for The Elephant Whisperers, she only came into it at the editing stage. She didn’t have anything to do with it till the first cut was already ready. She was able to bridge the gap between the filmmaker and the Oscars.”
Vinta spoke about the need for introspection by both the Oscars organizers and Guneet regarding their role in the system. She questioned the fairness of the current process, saying, “What the Oscars organisers and Guneet need to introspect is, if this is a good thing that they’re doing. What if certain films don’t come to Guneet’s notice? A producer already making films may not be the right conduit because there may be biases there. I’m sure she or Priyanka isn’t biased and is very fair but it’s not the right way to go. As it is, the lesser names are where the material is because they’re the ones to be actually making a film.”
Finally, Vinta reiterated that this approach often places undue pressure on influential figures like Guneet and Priyanka. “Awards, festivals and funders need to find the right talent. There must be 20-30 other good films in the market, which they don’t even know exist. They can’t say that Guneet likes a film and so, I also like it. It’s an unhealthy kind of a space we’re getting into and it’s going to be a harmful and unhealthy ecosystem for creative storytellers to exist. The pressure is going to be so much. It’s so oppressive already,” she concluded.
