Anurag Kashyap wipes out No-Oscar acrimony, Reaches out to Gyan Correa

After all the bitterness and hullaballoo over the selection of Gyan Correa’s The Good Road as India’s official entry to the Oscars, the dust and the muck have finally settled down. On Wednesday morning the 3-day attack on Correa’s film from Kashyap and his supporters over the rejection of the Kashyap-produced The Lunchbox finally ended with a call from Kashyap to Correa. Not only have the two sorted out their differences Kashyap has now offered to help Correa reach The Good Road to Oscar territory through the best route possible. Says Gyan Correa, “Yes, Anurag and I have spoken. There was a huge amount of disappointment on their side, and shock and elation on my side. Now I’ve spoken to Anurag this morning (Wednesday) and Ritesh yesterday (Tuesday). I let them know that I wanted to speak to them. And they both called. We are all going to put our best feet forward and make sure that The Good Road reaches Los Angeles prepared to fight the Oscar battle. Anurag has a lot of information on the Oscar process.” When we expressed surprise at this unexpected rapprochement Gyan replied, “I am not a confrontational person. I abhor a lack of good manners in anyone. I reached out to them and they reached to me. We need to forget our personal disappointments and victories and work to get that Oscar. It’s a really really tough battle ahead.The competition this time at the Oscars is really stiff. Fortunately Anurag who has a lot of knowledge of how things work in out there has agreed to provide all his know-how. I genuinely believe that if we compete in the right spirit and if we work towards the same goal we stand a good chance.” Re-living the trauma of the last few days Gyan says, “I am new to the ways of this industry. I don’t know how to touch people’s feet and suck up to important people. But I know the spirit of camaraderie matters above all other considerations. My daughter who is 14 is a sailor. I’ve seen her sail with her friends from the age of 8. They compete furiously in the water. And then when they come out of the water they are inseparable friends. That’s the spirit I’ve learnt from my daughter. We’ve a lot to learn from our children.” Anurag and Gyan are to meet on Wednesday evening to discuss the Oscar strategy for The Good Road. There ends another bitter battle.