14032023-LSTL-01.qxd 3/13/2023 11:54 PM Page 1 c m y b TRIBUNE Missed out Cate Blanchett at the 95th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. She was nominated for the Best Actress award for Tár, but could not win the title. REUTERS LUDHIANA | TUESDAY | 14 MARCH 2023 Proud on the podium KARTIKI GONSALVES AND GUNEET MONGA Moment of joy PHOTOS: REUTERS/AGENCIES The Elephant Whisperers brings home Best Documentary Short Film Award India’s short documentary The Elephant Whisperers has brought home an Oscar in the Best Documentary Short Film category at the 95th Oscar Awards. The award was presented by Pedro Pascal. The Elephant Whisperers was competing in the category alongside Haulout, How Do You Measure a Year?, The Martha Mitchell Effect and Stranger at the Gate. The award was received by the Thank you director Kartiki Gonsalves and to the academy Guneet Monga. for recognising our In her winning speech, Gonfilm highlighting salves said, “I stand here today indigenous people to speak on the sacred bond and animals. between us and our natural KARTIKI GONSALVES, world. For the respect of indigeDIRECTOR nous communities. For empathy towards other living beings we share our space with. And finally for co-existence. Thank you to the academy for recognising our film highlighting indigenous people and animals. To Netflix for believing in the power of this film. To Guneet, my producer and my entire team and finally, to my mother father and sister who are up there somewhere, you’re the centre of my universe. To my motherland India.” The Elephant Whisperers marks Kartiki Gonsalves’ directorial debut. The documentary is about the bond that develops between a couple and an orphaned baby elephant, Raghu. The film’s producer Guneet Monga said: “This is an incredibly powerful moment. We, as two women from India, stood on that global stage making this a historical win. I’m so proud of this film, this moment and my amazing team at Sikhya Entertainment, that an independent production house from India has made history and become the first-ever Indian film by an Indian production to win an Oscar. My heart is racing with all the joy, love and excitement. I’m so grateful to Kartiki, the wonderful visionary that she is.” – IANS No violence please! OVER THE MOON: Best Supporting Actor Ke Huy Quan, Best Actress Michelle Yeoh, Best Actor Brendan Fraser and Best Supporting Actress Jamie Lee Curtis; and(R) Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang and Daniel Kwan pose with the award for best picture for Everything Everywhere All at Once E VERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE bagged seven awards, including Best Picture, at the Oscar Awards 2023. Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis all won acting honours, while the filmmaking duo known as the Daniels—Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert—won for both direction and original screenplay. Oscars 2023 Everything Everywhere All At Once bags seven titles; Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser win Yeoh became the first Asian woman to bag the Best Actress award for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once. The 60-year-old Malaysian, Yeoh, won her first Oscar for a performance that relied as much on her comic and dramatic chops, as it did her kungfu skills. Hers is the first best actress win for a non-white actress in 20 years. “Ladies, don’t let anyone ever tell you you’re past your prime,” said Yeoh, who received a raucous standing ovation. In winning best director, the Daniels, both 35 years old, won for just their second and decidedly un-Oscar bait feature. They’re just the third directing pair to win the award, following Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins (West Side Story) and Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men). Scheinert dedicated the award ‘to the moms of the world’. TOP HONOURS The Best Actor award was bagged by ON A WINNING NOTE BEST PICTURE Everything BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Everywhere All at Once BEST ACTRESS Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once BEST ACTOR Brendan Fraser, The Whale BEST DIRECTOR Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once Jamie Lee Curtis, Everything Everywhere All at Once Brendan Fraser, culminating the former action star’s return to centre stage for his physical transformation as a 600-lb reclusive professor in The Whale. The best-actor race had been one of the closest contests of the night, but Fraser in the end edged Austin Butler. “So this is what the multiverse looks like,” said a clearly moved Fraser, pointing to the Everything Everywhere All at Once crew. The former child star Quan capped his own extraordinary comeback with the Oscar for best Supporting Actor for his performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once. “Mom, I just won an Oscar!” said Quan, 51, whose family fled Vietnam in the war when he was a child. Minutes later, Quan’s cast-mate Jamie Lee Curtis won the award for Best Supporting Actress. It also made history for Curtis, a first-time winner who alluded to herself as ‘a Nepo baby’ during her win at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. She’s the rare BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM All Quiet on the Western Front, Germany BEST ORIGINAL SONG Naatu Naatu, from RRR, music by M.M. Keeravaani and lyrics by Chandrabose DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM The Elephant Whisperers Oscar winner whose parents were both Oscar nominees, something she emotionally referenced in her speech. Tony Curtis was nominated for The Defiant Ones in 1959 and Janet Leigh was nominated in 1961 for Psycho. The German-language WWI epic All Quiet on the Western Front—Netflix’s top contender this year— bagged four awards. It won for cinematography, production design, score and best international film. Though Bassett missed on supporting actress, Ruth E Carter won for the costume design of Wakanda Forever, four years after becoming the first ‘Black’ designer to win an Oscar for Black Panther. This one makes Carter the first ‘Black’ woman to win two Oscars. Neither Tom Cruise, whose Top Gun: Maverick was vying for Best Picture award, nor James Cameron, director of best-picture nominee Avatar: The Way of Water, were present at the ceremony. — AP World dances to Indian tune Naatu Naatu from RRR creates Oscar history, wins Best Original Song Oscar host, comedian Jimmy Kimmel jokes about ‘the slap’ Comedian Jimmy Kimmel, returning for a third stint as Oscar host, opened the 95th Academy Awards with a monologue that jokingly admonished the stars filling the Dolby Theatre to behave, a year after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage, but was allowed to remain in the venue to accept the award for best actor minutes later. “We know this is a special night for you,” Kimmel told the crowd of Hollywood luminaries. “We want you to have fun, we want you to feel safe, and, most important, we want me to feel safe.” Kimmel, who was cheekily promoted ahead of Sunday’s telecast as an ‘unflappable, unslappable’ Oscar host, then went on to give a mock recitation of “strict policies in place” to prevent a repeat of last year’s incident. “If anyone in this theatre commits an act of violence at any point during this show, you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and permitted to give a 19-minute speech,” he deadpanned to hearty but somewhat awkward laughter. “If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just sit there and do what you did last year, nothing,” Kimmel added. “Maybe even give the assailant a hug.” As punishment for his behavior, Smith was later banned from attending the ceremony for 10 years. — Reuters Naatu Naatu, the peppy, foot-tapping chartbuster from SS Rajamouli’s Telugu period action film RRR, waltzed its way to history by becoming the first Indian track to win the Academy Award in the Best Original Song category. Naatu Naatu, Naacho Naacho in Hindi, is composed by MM Keeravaani and penned by Chandrabose. “I grew up listening to The Carpenters and now here I am with the Oscars. There was only one wish on my mind, so was Rajamouli’s and our families’ — RRR has to win…,” Keeravani said while Chandrabose simply signed off with a namaste. Naatu Naatu was nominated alongside Applause from Tell It Like a Woman, Hold My Hand from Top Gun: Maverick, Lift Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and This country music in its runIs a Life from Everything time of 4.35 minutes. Jai Everywhere All at Once. Ho from the 2008 British This is the third major film Slumdog Millioninternational recognition for aire, directed by Danny the Telugu song after Golden Boyle, was the first Hindi Globe and Critics Choice Award song to win an Academy JR NTR wins. The film’s team described Award in the Best Original the win as a ‘surreal moment’. Score and Original Song cateRRR lead actor Ram Charan took to his gories. It was composed by AR Rahman and Twitter account and shared a long note penned by Gulzar. which he captioned, “We have won!! We have won as Indian cinema! We won as a country! Father-son bonding The Oscar Award is coming home!” Charan It’s even more special for the father and son wrote.” Naatu Naatucelebrates the inclusive —music director M.M. Keeravani and playspirit of dance and features Charan and Jr back singer Kaala Bhairava—who have NTR matching steps to its catchy rhythm. worked on Naatu Naatu. While Keeravani The title of the track translates to bucolic in composed the music for the iconic song, Telugu. It demonstrates the spirit of fun in Kaala lent his voice, along with singer c m y b Beauty in BLACK Actress Deepika Padukone, who was among the presenters at the Oscars alongside Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Riz Ahmed, Glenn Close, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors, walked the coveted red carpet, as she picked a classic Hollywood look for the event with an all-black attire. The actress took to Instagram and Deepika shared her look from the red Padukone carpet. She can be seen picks classic dressed in an off-shoulder Hollywood look jet-black gown. She rounded up her look with diamond for the gala jewels, including statement rings, a bracelet and a necklace. Meanwhile, before Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava earned a standing ovation for their electrifying performance on Naatu Naatu, Deepika said, “An irresistibly catchy chorus, electrifying beats and killer dance moves to match have made this song a global sensation. It plays during a pivotal scene in RRR, a movie about the friendship between real-life Indian revolutionaries Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem. In addition to being sung in Telugu and illustrating the film’s anti-colonialist themes, it’s also a total banger!” She added, “It’s earned millions of views on Youtube and Tik Tok. Has audiences dancing in movie theatres all around the world and is also the first song ever from Indian production to be nominated for an Oscar. Do you know Naatu? Because if you don’t you’re about to. From the film RRR this is Naatu Naatu.” — IANS MM KEERAVAANI AND CHANDRABOSE Rahul Sipligunj. The 95th Oscar Awards show featured both of them, albeit at different points of time. Live performance applauded Naatu Naatu singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava received a standing ovation at Oscars 2023. The singers gave a live performance at the 95th Academy Awards. It was a goosebump moment for all when Naatu Naatu took over the Oscars stage with American dancers doing full justice to the track. American actor-dancer Lauren Gottlieb also grooved on the track. Actress Deepika Padukone introduced the song to the audience and called it a ‘banger’. The audience loved Rahul and Kaala’s performance as they all stood up from their seats and applauded them. — IANS KANGANA RANAUT PRAISES DEEPIKA Actress Kangana Ranaut has praised Deepika Padukone and said she stands as a testimony to the fact that Indian women are the best. “How beautiful @deepikapadukone looks, not easy to stand there holding the entire nation together, carrying its image, reputation on those delicate shoulders and speaking so graciously and confidently. Deepika stands tall as a testimony to the fact that Indian women are the best,” Kangana wrote on Monday. IANS