The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science took to social media to share a video on finding hope and persevering even when the times are bleak. The video had clippings from famous and iconic films. However, what caught everyone’s attention was the fact that Irrfan also made an appearance in the clip at the very end.
The Academy wrote in their tweet, “A celebration of hope – through the lens of movies we love.” The video is a montage of some of the most popular and iconic films such as The Shawshank Redemption, Her, Captain Marvel, The Martian, The Shining, Legally Blonde, The Dark Knight, Parasite, Interstellar, Black Panther, Wall-E, Life of Pi and more. The video shows Al Pacino from The Scent of a Woman in the well-known courtroom scene. Matt Damon appears in the clip telling people to take back the control of the situation as a voiceover talks about people losing work as footage from Children of Men accompanies it. Tim Robbins’ famous line, ‘Get busy living or get busy dying,’ from The Shawshank Redemption also makes an appearance.
A celebration of hope—through the lens of movies we love. pic.twitter.com/EYZ5FPvHdl
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) July 29, 2020
However, it is Irrfan’s presence that has made the Indian audiences sit up and take notice of the Academy’s video. He is asked in the clip which is from the film Life of Pi, ‘Does your story has a happy ending?’ and he says, “Well, that’s up to you.” Twitter was abuzz with Irrfan’s footage in the video. Writer Aseem Chhabra wrote, “This is so beautiful - celebration of the sense of hope and ending with #IrrfanKhan’s smiling face!” Nimrat Kaur wrote, “A heavy heart smiles with the last frame. Such a rich, moving collage. #IrrfanForever.”
A heavy heart smiles with the last frame. Such a rich, moving collage. #IrrfanForever https://t.co/OhGMc87tT7
— Nimrat Kaur (@NimratOfficial) July 29, 2020
However, a few asked about why women actors were not represented in the video except Reese Witherspoon. One user wrote, “People only gushing over Irrfan Khan & not finding this clip problematic should do better. Do women not speak in movies? Or dont they have powerful quotes to be included in a clip that celebrates hope? Great to see our Irrfan sir, but this constant relegation is depressing,” while another wrote, “Too bad there’s only one clip really featuring a woman speaking (thank you, Elle Woods). The only other woman we hear asks a question so the man can answer.”
(Source: The Academy Twitter)
