Jai Bhim at Oscars: Scene At The Academy is a ‘Paid Platform’, is Suriya’s Film Featuring There Really a Big Achievement?

A scene from Jai Bhim featured on the YouTube handle of Oscars in the 'Scene at the Academy' section. But haven't we made it a big deal while it's really a paid platform? Read on.

Jai Bhim at Oscars: Suriya starrer Jai Bhim took over the internet last week when the fans celebrated a scene from the film being featured on the Academy’s official YouTube handles called ‘Scene At The Academy. ‘However, as per the latest buzz, Jai Bhim qualifying to be featured on the official YouTube handle of the Oscars might not be that big a thing. Several Twitter users have taken to Twitter to write about the process that is followed to get your film featured on the YouTube of the Academy and it involves money.

As per a viral tweet that first appeared in Wion, carrying a screenshot from the Oscars’ official website, any filmmaker who wishes to feature a scene from his/ her film on the Academy’s spotlight YouTube has to pay a certain amount of fees. Basically, the spot on The Academy’s YouTube channel called ‘Scene At The Academy’ can be bought for an amount of Rs USD 5000 which is close to Rs 3,70,000. This means that even though Jai Bhim becomes the first Tamil film to have featured in that category on the Academy’s YouTube handle, it is not a decision based solely on merit.

What is Scene at the Academy?

As mentioned on the Academy’s official website, the Scene at the Academy “focuses on filmmakers and artists talking about the evolution and breakdown of a scene (one or two scenes, maximum) or an element (i.e. song) in the film that captures and represents the approach to the movie. For example, writers discuss how scene(s) originated, directors talk about the considerations throughout, composers/songwriters explain storytelling through song, visual effects supervisors show how moments came to life, etc.”

If you pay Rs 3,72,000, the video will be published Oscar’s YouTube Channel. This is how Jai Bhim video is streamed in Oscar Channel. So actor Suriya started following cheap marketing tricks as like DMKians? pic.twitter.com/nFBA9YfG2D

— G Pradeep (@pradeep_gee) January 23, 2022

Further, it should also be noted that featuring on ‘Scene At The Academy’ doesn’t mean Jai Bhim has qualified for a direct entry at the Oscars. However, the film has qualified to be nominated at the Oscars like other films which are in the race to secure a nomination at the awards ceremony this year. As of now, the Academy has released the list of 276 films including India’s Jai Bhim and Marakkar Arabikadalinte Simham from which the final nominations will be made next month.

In Jai Bhim, Suriya plays the role of a lawyer who fights in court for the tribals and stands against the system for framing the oppressed people in fake charges. The film highlighted the story of a snake charmer who dies in police custody after being falsely framed in a case. His pregnant wife runs from pillar to pillar to get justice until a lawyer helps her and attempts to change the system. The film has garnered critical acclaim for being the voice of the oppressed. Jai Bhim is directed by TJ Gnanavel.