Little Terrorist director 'humbled' by Oscar exposure

Little Terrorist, India's 15-minute hopeful for an Academy Award in the Live Action Short Film category, may not have won, but the director's 15 minutes of fame have just begun.

Ashvin Kumar told Gulf News soon after the high-profile Oscar ceremony that he was "humbled" by the evening's events. "The entire experience of just being there was enough for me," Kumar said. The film lost to Andrea Arnold's film Wasp.

The 31-year-old director told Gulf News early last month, after news of his nomination broke out, that he was fairly confident of winning. "I thought that the strong political message would carry the film through, but that was not the case. I had an opportunity to watch the other nominees in the same category and they were all outstanding so I'm just elated that Little Terrorist got this far," he said.

Kumar's film is based on a real-life incident of a little boy crossing the border from Pakistan into India and being harassed by Indian soldiers, who suspect him of being a terrorist.

The boy is rescued by an old orthodox Hindu teacher, who later risks his own life to ensure the boy's safe return across the border.

Little Terrorist has received enormous praise in critics' circles around the world and made it the first short film to be released in commercial cinema complexes in India.

Opportunity

"People have been offering me commiserations, but a lot of doors have been opened because of the nomination and I have had the opportunity to get access to the industry out here [United States]," Kumar said.

He did not wish to reveal more details about talks that had taken place with representatives in Hollywood. "It's too premature to say anything but the response and the nomination makes for a positive response," he said.

Kumar said that his immediate plan was to take time off to watch all the nominated movies. "It's only then we realise how much is available in terms of ideas," he said.

Kumar is more keen on focusing on his future plans instead of analysing why he did not win. "We just didn't get enough votes, there's nothing more to it," he said. His next expected release will be a commercial venture titled Forest and will star Irfan Khan.