'Life in a Metro' screenplay invited for Oscar library

New Delhi, June 1 (UNI) After earning box office success and critical acclaim worldwide for its ''realistic'' and "engaging" portrayal of life in a modern metro, Anurag Basu's 'Life In a Metro' has now notched another feather in its cap with the Motion Picture Academy's prestigious library inviting the screenplay of the film to be part of its sprawling script collection.

Having been lauded in film critics circles in India and abroad for its perceptive look into lives of people living in a metropolitan city where the fast pace of life leaves no time for emotions and feelings leading to flippant relationships, the screenplay of the Anurag Basu-directed film has been invited by the Margaret Herrick Library, the Motion Picture Academy's prestigious library which is the world's oldest comprehensive one on films, sources in the UTV said.

The honour puts 'Life in A Metro' in league with Hollywood masterpieces like 'Finding Nemo', 'Million Dollar Baby' and 'The Passion of the Christ', which are already a part of the huge script collection of the Oscars Library.

'Life In a Metro' has thus become the latest Hindi film to be invited to be part of the Oscars library, which has in the last few years invited screenplays of many popular Hindi films like 'Lagaan', 'Kal Ho Na Ho', 'Salaam Namaste', 'Parineeta', 'Taxi Number 9211' 'Phir Hera Pheri', 'Eklavya', 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' and 'Kabhi Alvida na Kehna'.

What makes the honour for 'Life In a Metro' all the more commendable is the fact that it is the first time a small Hindi commercial film with no starcast has been chosen to be part of the acclaimed collection. ''This is definitely the new wave of Indian films,''says Ram Mirchandani, Senior VP-Creative and Projects, UTV Motion Pictures.

''This is the changing phase of Indian cinema. Whether its IFFI, Cannes or the Toronto film festival, Indian films are a vital part of it. Especially recently there has been a growth in niche, low budget, good scripted films like 'Khosla Ka Ghosla', 'Bheja Fry' and 'Metro' that have created their own 'space in the sun." The honour is EveN more special for Life in a.Metro' as it is not really a typical bollywood big budget-featuring blockbuster stars that have traditionally been acclaimed abroad. In fact, it's a film completely shot in regular day-to-day backdrop! The selection of Metro for the academy library has opened inspirational doors to all young professionals and reassures us that the script rules,''Mirchandani said.

The Oscars library has collections of more than 32,000 books; 1,800 periodical titles; 60,000 screenplays; lobby cards, over 8 million photographs; over 300 manuscript and other special collections relating to prominent industry individuals, studios and organizations; sheet music, music scores and sound recordings; production and costume sketches; artifacts; and oral histories.

The library's vast collection is used for study and research by film students and directors.

Released on May 11 worldwide, 'Life In a Metro' features Shilpa Shetty, Shiney Ahuja, Kay Kay Menon, Konkana Sen Sharma, Sharman Joshi, Kangna Ranaut and Irrfan Khan. An intertwined story of the emotional journeys that three different couples living in the modern metropolitan cities take, 'Life In a Metro' deals with an increasing number of heartbreaks and agony in a Metro city be it Delhi, Mumbai, London or Melbourne - an increasing number of short-lived relationships arising out of human beings having too many choices and chasing too many dreams.

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