Dev Patel and Ben Kingsley Starrer ‘The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’ Wins Oscar for Best Live Action Short
- “To Kill a Tiger,” a widely acclaimed documentary set in India, looses to “20 Days in Mariupol.”
Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” starring Dev Patel and Ben Kingsley won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 96th Academy Awards yesterday (March 10) It chronicles a variety of stories, but the main one follows Henry Sugar, who can see through objects and predict the future with the help of a book he stole.
The film also stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, and Richard Ayoade. “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” beat out British-Bangaldeshi screenwriter and actress Nazrin Choudhury’s “Red, White and Blue,” “The After,” starring British Indian actor Nikesh Patel, as well as “Invincible,” and “Knight of Fortune.”
In the best documentary feature category, the India-set “To Kill a Tiger” lost the Oscar to “20 Days in Mariupol.” Directed by Ukrainian filmmaker and war correspondent Mstyslav Chernov, 20 Days in Mariupol follows the story of Ukrainian journalists trapped in Mariupol after Russia’s invasion. Directed by Indo-Canadian filmmaker Nisha Pahuja, ’s “To Kill a Tiger” tells the story of Ranjit, a farmer in Jharkhand, who takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a gang rape, according to a synopsis of the film.
Three films with South Asian cast did not win the coveted award in the Best Animated Feature Film category. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” starring Karan Soni; “Elemental” with Ronobir Lahiri; and “Nimona,” featuring Riz Ahmed lost to Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki’s “The Boy and the Heron.”
Meanwhile, Bollywood art director Nitin Desai was honored at the Memoriam segment as Andrea Bocelli and his son Matteo Bocelli sang “Time to Say Good-Bye.” Desai, a frequent collaborator of Sanjay Leela Bhansali created the sets of several films including “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” and “Bajirao Mastani.” He also worked with filmmakers like Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and Ashutosh Gowariker. His last film was the 2019 war epic drama “Panipat,” directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. Desai was found dead at his studio in Karjat, Maharashtra, reportedly by suicide.
Last year, two India-made productions received cinema’s biggest prize for the first time. “Naatu Naatu,” the foot-tapping number from the film “RRR,” won the Academy Award for best original song, and “The Elephant Whisperers” received the award in the documentary short category.