Switching off from cricket for one night all eyes will be on the Oscars on Feb.22 and I hope that Boyhood will win the Best Movie statuette.

Starting off as a project – filmed over 12 years Richard Linklater’s labor of love is the definitive time capsule of a lot of our childhoods. It charts the growth of Mason who begins the film as a young child and ends it as an 18-year-old on the cusp of college. Along the way, his growth is juxtaposed with that of his separated parents and his older sister, and also evolution of tons of pop and real culture !! For instance, at one point, Mason and his dad agree there should be no more Star Wars films after the prequels, an excellent joke on the upcoming films made even more amusing by the fact that no one involved could have known more were coming when the scene was filmed… An interesting fact, they shot the President Obama scenes when he was still running and hadn’t actually won. There are tons of such instances of foresight which made the film in the making for 12 years still relevant today.

It’s the subtle accrual of details, argues Linklater, that defines a life, not the big moments. Instead of wedding ceremonies and clichéd depictions of awkward virginity loss, Linklater luxuriates in the minutiae: a cruelly enforced haircut here, a trip to the bowling alley there, camping trips, sibling arguments, the first day at a new school, a first kiss, lying about sex, making awkward friendships and so much more. The perfect definition of adolescent life (if it had a definition) – it just happens …

2 words sum up this film “Casually Complex” and its a feat that will almost surely never be replicated in the annals of cinema again. “Boyhood” is a singular, masterful work of art. Linklater and his team have done something incredibly difficult and made it look effortless. The result is easily one of the best films of the year.

So in conclusion on the 22nd of February hopefully there will be two winners —- India will triumph over South Africa in Australia and Boyhood will trump all the other nominees for Best Picture in Hollywood.. Also being a stock market participant – Full disclosure – I have wagered a small sum of money on both my picks. (You know where the party is on the 23rd if either/both win !!)

SAUMIL BHANSHALI