Amid criticism over the selection of 'The Good Road' as India's official entry to the Oscars, the Gujarati film's Academy award-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty has come forward in defence of the movie.
The selection of 'The Good Road' starring Sonali Kulkarni, Poonam Kesar Singh, Ajay Gehi among others, was not welcomed by many in Bollywood.
Rather the B-town felt Ritesh Batra's "The Lunchbox", which is produced by Anurag Kashyap and presented by Karan Johar, was a more befitting choice.
"I haven't seen 'The Lunchbox'. That movie may be a better film than 'The Good Road'. As far as I see about the criticism, the director (Gyan Correa) is a debutante and the protagonist and surrounding characters are non-actors.
"This movie came from the oblivion without any hype or promotion. It may not fall in the conventional film category, but that doesn't mean that it is not fit for the race," Pookutty told PTI.
Kashyap and Johar expressed their disappointment after "The Lunchbox" was ignored by the Film Federation of India appointed selection committee, which announced "The Good Road" as its choice from 22 entries to represent India at the Oscars.
Pookutty says it was very disheartening to hear industry stalwarts talk like this.
"It is quiet disheartening to see people working in the same industry coming up with criticism. Anurag has always been a proponent of independent cinema. I think it could be because he is one of the producers of 'The Lunchbox'. He should feel happy for the other Indian film being selected," Pookutty said.
