As you begin to watch And the Oskar Goes To... you feel like you are watching a substandard film with a low production value that somehow got to cast the talented Tovino Thomas in it. Then as the story of a determined filmmaker takes pace you begin to see the magic that director Salim Ahmed spews as he tugs at your heartstrings by showing the plight of independent filmmakers who struggle with production, promotion, and other aspects of creating cinema. Although the autobiographical traces are a bit arrogant when you read between the lines of the dialogues, And the Oskar Goes To... manages to keep you hooked with its simple story and a deeper description of the madness of cinema that some people harbour. Ahmed writes his characters well and that is one of the reason why that substandard nature rubs off from the film as veterans like Salim Kumar and SIddique grace the screen and make it more lively. Thomas drives the film with his nuanced performance and I am really starting to see a range here. I also have issues with how the female foreigner character is portrayed in the film, but I guess the other female character played by Anu Sithara makes up for it. Overall, there are glaring issues with this emotional drama but it still finishes the race with good marks. The meta element at the end is clever. TN.
Review of And the Oskar Goes To..
