WASHINGTON: Lagaan has lost the Oscar award in the best foreign language film category to No-Man's Land. The verdict was also a surprise to front-runner Amelie, a romantic French confection, which

any critics expected to win. The Oscar voters chose No-Man's Land, a grim tragedy about the devastation and futility of Bosnia's civil war.            One could never guess from their smiles, who won and who went back without the golden statuettes that mark the industry's highest honour. At the 74th annual Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on 24 March, some of Hollywood's most famous and powerful figures walked away losers.

           Perhaps the biggest blowout of the night was Lord of the Rings, the fantasy blockbuster tipped as one of the strongest contenders for best picture and nominated in 13 categories which ended up with a scant four awards in secondary categories.

           Psycho-drama, A Beautiful Mind walked away with top honours of best film and best director Ron Howard. Oscar hopes were dashed for actor Russell Crowe, who came into the award ceremony hoping to join Tom Hanks and Spencer Tracy as one of the few male

stars to win back-to-back in the best actor ategory following his swaggering victory last year for Gladiator. But in the end the hulking Australian-raised actor was left to stand and applaud with the rest of the audience as Denzel Washington grabbed the prize.

           Losing was in the cards for two of the film industry's most respected female stars as Nicole Kidman and Sissy Spacek were passed over in the best actress category. But, the crown went to Halle Berry, who made history as the first black woman to win the best actress Oscar for her role in Monster's Ball.

.          Several of Britain's best-loved actors - who often clean up at the Oscars - were sent home empty-handed this year. Sir Ian McKellen, tipped as the front-runner for his role as the wizard Gandalf in Rings, did not have enough magic to win the award, which went to fellow Brit Jim Broadbent for his portrayal of the husband of English writer Iris Murdoch in Iris.

           Best supporting actress award went to Jennifer Connelley for a wonderful performance in A Beautiful Mind. Despite the waves of loss washing over the audience, the high-wattage smiles were undimmed as the film industry's great and not-so-great headed home after yet another Oscar ceremony that stretched into the wee hours of the night.

-ANI
March 25. 2002

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