Oscars: Rajeev Masand's verdict

Mumbai: For years, the Oscars have honoured films that have made people feel good about themselves, films that have dealt with the triumph of the human spirit, films that have tackled love and loss and longing.

But at the 78th Annual Academy Awards, the focus was clearly on films with a provocative theme, films that carried a clear political message.

Crash

It's being billed as the year that Hollywood clearly showed its political colours. Director Paul Haggis Crash, a portrait of simmering racial and cultural clashes among Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Asians and Iranians beat Taiwanese director Ang Lee's gay love story Brokeback Mountain in the keenly contested Best Picture category.

And it's being described as one of the biggest upsets in Academy Awards history. A provocative film about people and their prejudices, Crash dwells on the reality that almost everyone has been a victim of racism at some point or the other, and they're also guilty of it in some way or the other.

It's a film that tells of racial bigotry and fear during a 36-hour period in Los Angeles.

Syriana

The evening's first award went out to George Clooney for his performance as a disillusioned CIA agent who grows jaded with the US oil policy in the Middle East, in director Stephen Gaghan's Syriana. The film deals with the ramifications of America's dependence on Middle East oil. Clooney bagged the award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

The Constant Gardener

British actress Rachel Weisz took home the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her portrayal as a of a humanitarian aid worker in The Constant Gardener. In the film, Weiez's fearless efforts against questionable pharmaceutical practices makes her the target for government and corporate interests in Africa.

Brokeback Mountain

From itself, the big question that loomed large over the show was whether the Academy would lean towards serious, political, consciousness-raising films like Crash, Good Night and Good Luck and Munich or then towards films that actually touched people's hearts - like Brokeback Mountain.

And although neither Clooney's Good Night and Good Luck nor Steven Spielberg's Munich picked up even a single trophy, the answer became clear when front-runner Brokeback Mountain picked up only three of the eight awards it was nominated for, making way for provocative films with a clear political message.