Mumbai, Sep 24 (IANS) New York-based Indian filmmaker Mira Nair likely to push Tabu's name for an Oscar nomination this year. The talented actress played the central role in her film The Namesake."She is definitely going to project Tabu as a potential best actress at the Oscars. Though Irrfan Khan is as good, if not better, the focus of Nair's Oscar campaign for her masterly study of the Indian diaspora is likely to be predominantly Tabu," said a source close to the project.

"Irrfan is excellent. But he lacks what the Americans are looking for in their Oscars recipe. Tabu is exotic, glamorous and mysterious. This is her first real exposure to the Western audience. And they're lapping up her Bengali act, thick accent and all. On top of that she's also wowing the westerners with her performance in Cheeni Kum," added the source.

Will Tabu be the first Indian actor to win an Oscar?

"Why not?" says Mira's creative compatriot Deepa Mehta. "She's amazingly good, on a par with any of her Western counterparts," said Mehta who six years ago offered Tabu the lead in Water. The deal fell apart.

A lot of global cineastes are positive about Tabu's chances. However, Tabu herself remains supremely indifferent to recognition at home or abroad.

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Japanese to honour Santosh Sivan

Having just gathered heaps of praise at the Toronto Film Festival for his latest English-language feature film "Before The Rains" and short Kannada film on AIDS, "Prarambh", cinematographer-director Santosh Sivan now heads for Japan to be honoured by the Japanese Society of Cinematographers Sep 28 at Tokyo and Sep 30 at Osaka.

"I really can't tell which honour I enjoy more - to be praised for my direction or cinematography," said Sivan. "But they're screening two of my most contrasting works as a cinematographer, Mani Ratnam's 'Dil Se' and my own directorial venture 'Navarasa' with Japanese subtitles. Can you believe it?"

Going by the ovation that Sivan's "Before The Rains" and Rituparno Ghosh's "The Last Lear" have received at Toronto, is the West accepting more of a new kind of Bollywood removed from the song-and-dance tradition?

Sivan doesn't think so.

"The so-called Bollywood formula has never been the sole trademark for Indian cinema. Thanks to the films of Satyajit Ray and other masters from India who made an impact, there have always been different kinds of Indian cinema making an impact in the West and 'Bollywood' has never been synonymous with Indian cinema.

"My two films at Toronto were not only very different from the Bollywood formula but also different from each other and also in different languages, English and Kannada. Foreign audiences don't equate Hindi formula films with Indian cinema. But, yes, they do like big Bollywood stars at the film festivals, just like they like their counterparts from Hollywood to walk the red carpet. Stars make good television visuals."