Indian Women Rising founders: Had robust strategy to compete with 174 movies

A still from Bittu

On Wednesday, our wait for the golden statuette for Best International Feature Film was extended by a year as Malayalam film Jallikattu, India's official entry to the 93rd Academy Awards, failed to make the cut. However, there was much to cheer about as Karishma Dev Dube's Bittu earned a spot in the shortlist of the Short Film in Live Action category. The Student Oscar-winning film competed against 174 shorts across the globe, including Vidya Balan's Natkhat and Sayani Gupta's Shameless, to emerge among the top 10 chosen stories.

A still from Jallikattu

Dube, who based her story on the 2013 food poisoning tragedy in Bihar, is "overwhelmed" by the recognition. "It's every filmmaker's dream to be recognised by the Academy. I remember there was a lot of media attention on the 2013 incident, and too many images available [online]. I [decided to] re-imagine the incident without going into how or why it happened. Ultimately, the film became about my boarding school experiences, my relationship with authority, and my friendships," says the director, a recipient of the Dean's Fellowship in New York University.

Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and Tahira Kashyap Khurrana

The short film is the maiden venture of Indian Women Rising (IWR), the collective founded by Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga, Tahira Kashyap Khurrana and Ruchikaa Kapoor. When mid-day reached out to them, the presenters said, "Firsts are always special, and Bittu holds a unique place in our endeavour. We are proud to represent India at the awards with a film that is so deeply rooted in our homeland."

Elated as they are, the presenters are aware that they have crossed only the first hurdle. The second round of voting, which will determine the final five nominations, will begin on March 5. Knowing that lobbying plays a big role in a film's graduation to the final shortlist, they are in the process of charting out an aggressive marketing plan. "We had a robust strategy to compete with 174 movies across the globe. The film's festival runs were an added advantage, along with the support from NYU. Going forward, we will continue to focus on dedicated outreach towards the Academy voters."