Post by TheAssociatedPress on Mar 14, 2004 10:41:13 GMT
Friday, March 5, 2004
Indraprasth (AP) - No Bollywood film has ever won an
Oscar, but who needs one?
So says India's biggest movie star, Amitabh Bachchan.
Announcing that this year's International Indian Film
Academy awards will be held May 22 in Singapore, Bachchan
said the 900-movie-per-year Indian film industry, based
in Mumbai, isn't lacking just because it has never been
recognized with an Academy Award.
"The Oscars isn't everything," Press Trust of India
quoted Bachchan as saying Friday. "We have good content
and all we need to do is market it well."
Three Indian films have been nominated for an Academy
Award, or Oscar, in the best foreign language film
category. But none has ever won.
The five-year-old International Indian Film Academy
awards are held outside India every year to showcase the
global popularity of the films, even though they are
mostly in the Hindi language.
Last year the ceremony was held in South Africa.
"The content and quality of our films is improving and
IIFA aims to promote them internationally," United News
of India quoted Bachchan as saying. "We are not organized
like Hollywood markets, but in coming years, we would
surely excel."
Bachchan has appeared in 142 films since his debut in
1969 and is considered India's biggest-ever movie star.
More at the AP link at
News Plus
www.mantra.com/newsplus