‘Raajneeti’ screenplay goes to Oscar archives

MUMBAI - Director Prakash Jha is elated after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences approached him to acquire the copies of the screenplay of his hit political thriller “Raajneeti” for their permanent core collection.

“I’m very happy and honoured that the Academy has requested me for the screenplay of ‘Raajneeti’. Though Hindi cinema has its own tradition and form, it is always nice to be recognised internationally,” Jha said in statement.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s premier movie-related organization and is best known for its annual Oscar awards celebration.

The scripts in their collection are made available to all for research purposes only and in the premises of their reading room.

Inspired by epic Mahabharata, “Raajneeti” is a political saga on northern India’s murky electoral politics which gives a rare insight to the power equation and strained relationship within a political family made up of ensemble cast including actor Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpayee, Ajay Devgn, Nana Patekar and Naseeruddin Shah among others

“Anjunm Rajabali and I had worked very hard on the screenplay of ‘Raajneeti’. It took us several drafts and many years of work to come to the final screenplay of the film. It’s nice to know that that effort has not gone waste and we have been blessed with commercial as well as critical acclaim,” said Jha.

“The script is the fulcrum of a film and I hope in the coming years in India we further strengthen this aspect of filmmaking,” he added.

Other Indian screenplays to have made it to the Oscar archives include “Rock On!!”, “Heroes”, “Lagaan”, “Devdas”, “Munnabhai M.B.B.S.”, “Kal Ho Naa Ho”, “Chak De! India”, “Sarkar Raj” and “Gandhi My Father”.