Shaukat Khan was a college student at the time. India had known freedom for 10 years, Jawaharlal Nehru was still prime minister, and Mehboob Khan's Mother India had just swept the box office. Words like "lobbying" did not sit comfortably in the country's vocabulary. Still, as part of the ritual, Mother India was posted as India's entry for the Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1957. Then came what Shaukat, Mehboobsaab's son, describes as "a pleasant bolt from the blue": Mother India became the first Indian film to be nominated for the Oscar. In an age preceding media hype and pr tamasha, the legendary filmmaker made a quiet trip to the ceremony. "I remember my dad telling us on his return," recalls Shaukat, "that once he got there he realised you needed to do some marketing, that there was a lot of behind-the-scenes activity."

CINEMA

AAMIR TALKIES ON PUSHING LAGAAAN "We're trying to get as many members to see it and let the film do the talking." ON HELP FROM FRIENDS "Roland Joffe really liked the movie and has advised us a great deal."on campaign costs "Until the nomination, we had spent $50,000 on screenings and publicity." ON US PRESS REACTION "I've done many interviews. There is a lot of curiosity about Indian cinema."

Forty-five years on, another Khan is making that trip. When those coveted statuettes are given out on March 24, actor-producer Aamir Khan's Lagaan will be a contender in the Foreign Language Film category. Ask Aamir which pr firm he hired for Lagaan in Los Angeles at the pre-Oscar-nomination stage and he hesitates, "Uh, you know I've forgotten the name."

Words like "marketing" and "lobbying" don't come easy to Aamir. But as Dubya might say, make no mistake, he knows them better than most. Every year the Film Federation of India (FFI) sends an entry for the Foreign Film Oscar category. "Earlier, the filmmakers' attitude would be, 'Chalo, bhej diya, ab kya karna (It's been sent, what else is one to do?)'," says Bollywood producer Yash Johar. "But Aamir has changed all that with the manner in which he has single-handedly brought attention to Lagaan. It never occurred to others before, but he has shown us that being there and lobbying can make a world of difference." Make no mistake, at the heart of this reticent 37-year-old is a brilliant marketing man.

THE DARK HORSE: Bhuvan and Gauri (Aamir and Gracy Singh) in a still from Lagaan

MARKING TIME: Aamir signs an autograph at JFK Airport on his way to LA

Aamir has known from the start that in Lagaan he has a good film on his hands. He also knows that having a good film is not enough. Getting noticed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences-for a nomination, and to be picked from the final five-is a complex and costly business. "Basically, we are trying to get as many members as possible to see the film," says the actor in an interview to India Today from Los Angeles. "That's what we did in the first round and we let the film do the talking." Also doing some rather effective talking is the star himself through a spate of interviews in the US (he's spoken to USA Today, Variety and Hollywood Reporter, among others); and full-page colour ads in publications such as Variety and Hollywood Reporter issued by the film's US distributor Sony Pictures Classics. Each ad costs about $15,000 (Rs 7.2 lakh). Now that Sony has come on board-they picked up Lagaan in January-they are footing the bill. Industry buzz in India puts their total budget for Lagaan's Oscar publicity at $2 million (Rs 9.6 crore). That's piffle for a foreign company perhaps, but a mini-fortune for even a big Indian filmmaker; Lagaan, made at a cost of Rs 25 crore ($5.2 million), is considered an expensive film in India. Pre-nomination, Aamir spent about $50,000 (Rs 24 lakh) on publicity.

CINEMA

OSCAR ODYSSEY Getting to the Oscars is a complex and costly business BATTLE FOR INDIA: The Film Federation of India sends an entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category. This year, the committee had to choose from among 10 entries from all over India. THE FINAL FIVE: The Academy shortlists foreign entries and holds screenings. All voting members can vote for Best Picture nominees, but Best Foreign Language Film nominees are picked by a special committee. AND THE OSCAR GOES TO ...: The winner too is selected by a committee of about 750 members. Only members who have seen all five films can vote. Marketing helps attract members to the screenings.

Those close to Aamir

believe he had the Oscars on his mind from the time he began work on Lagaan. A friend discloses that almost two years ago he registered himself as a member of the Motion Picture Association of America in the belief that it might help him make a dent at the Oscars. While all the Academy's voting members cast the ballot for the Best Picture Oscar, the Foreign Language Film Oscar is decided by a special committee numbering about 750. Of these people, only those who have seen all the five nominated films can vote. Academy rules do not permit those involved with the film to directly contact members. The director and producer are not to be present at Academy screenings, and special events to lobby for votes are also banned. The point of the ads and interviews is to create a buzz around the film so that a maximum number of members are drawn to the screenings held in Los Angeles, New York and London.

"You cannot irritate Academy members with undue pressure," explains Richard Barker, co-president of Sony Classics. "There are many people in Hollywood who think that Amelie (from France) is not in contention because it has done too much. It is seen as being too pushy." Well then, few Bollywood actors know the art of media management better than Aamir. Here in India, in contrast with Shah Rukh Khan's "I'm always available, any time, anywhere" style of interacting with the press, Aamir is selective.

CINEMA

THE CONTENDERS AMÉLIE: COUNTRY: France SYNOPSIS: A shy, young Parisian becomes a secret good Samaritan, trying to bring joy to those around her, wondering if she will ever find some of her own. ELLING: COUNTRY: Norway SYNOPSIS: Two former mental patients Elling and Kjell forge a friendship when they leave the hospital to brave the outside world together as flatmates. NO MAN'S LAND: COUNTRY: Bosnia & Herzegovina SYNOPSIS: A Bosnian and a Serbian soldier trapped between enemy lines in a mined trench argue about politics, even as a fellow soldier lies wounded. SON OF THE BRIDE: COUNTRY: Argentina SYNOPSIS: A family drama unfolds when the father decides to 'remarry' his Alzheimer's-stricken wife to the horror of his workaholic son.

He's not easily accessible, yet is not stand-offish, and does what few Bollywood actors would never dream of doing-he actually returns telephone calls. Aamir has managed to create an aura around himself by usually surfacing around the time of each film's release with a barrage of interviews, then going into hibernation. With advice from Sony, he has carried this attitude to Los Angeles. "Aamir can afford to camp there because he's the kind who only does one film a year," says FFI President G.S. Mayawala.

The rule that forbids direct lobbying with Academy members does not mean that friends of your friends can't put in a good word. Director Roland Joffe, maker of City of Joy and the Oscar-winning film The Killing Fields, saw Lagaan on a visit to Mumbai and is believed to have loved it. He is the one who advised Aamir "to go there and show the film to as many people as possible". His good opinion does not hurt. Nor the fact that Mumbai socialite Parmeshwar Godrej is speaking to her buddies Steven Spielberg, Richard Gere, Ismail Merchant and others. Godrej refuses to confirm names but admits she has "spoken to a few friends to just go and see the film, just to help Lagaan get some visibility". Mira Nair, whose Salaam Bombay was nominated in the same category in 1988, seems to have put behind her the memory of Monsoon Wedding's failure to be selected as India's Oscar entry this year. She says she has "written to friends who are Academy members to see Lagaan and vote for it".

As the race nears its end-votes must reach the Academy by March 19-many see Bosnia & Herzegovina's No Man's Land as the main contender: the film's nomination is a first for its country. It is also a Golden Globe and Los Angeles Critics Award winner. Amelie too is strong competition. But if over-enthusiasm could go against it, so too could its nationality. Amelie happens to be the 32nd French film to be nominated in this category (nine have won so far), and as veteran Los Angeles-based film critic Leonard Klady puts it, "It is always a big deal in the foreign language committee when a movie is nominated from a country other than France or Italy." And Lagaan-Once Upon a Time in India is reportedly winning many admirers on the committee. One of them, a member for 20 years, says on condition of anonymity: "It was a spectacular movie. I don't know anything about cricket, but my heart was in my throat for the entire movie."

What could go against Lagaan though are its length-the 3 hour 42 minute film has not been shortened for the Academy-and the song-and-dance routines. Lagaan's Delhi-UP distributor Uday Kaushish worries because "this is not the kind of film Academy members are familiar with. It's a bit of a gypsy dance for them". These are the arguments that will, of course, be put forward if Lagaan does not win. If it does, then we will be reminded that length doesn't matter if a film is good, that after all 1993's Best Picture Oscar winner, Spielberg's Schindler's List, was no quickie with 3 hours-plus of reel time. As for that point about musicals: Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge, a nominee in the Best Picture category this year, is inspired by Bollywood's tradition of larger-than-life musicals. Aamir, for his part, believes that he has "all of India's best wishes" on his side. Those wishes are still pouring in. Signing a card for their idol as part of an Oscar promo at Delhi's PVR cinemas, one couple have written: "Best of luck to our team who is (sic) always a winner. It's about time Indian cinema got it's lagaan (tax) from the Oscars." Now if only we could post that card to the Academy.