Earlier this year, two Indian films namely S.S Rajamouli’s action extravaganza ‘RRR’ and the short documentary film ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ made India proud by bringing home the coveted Oscar Awards. These wins have put Indian cinema on the global cinematic map in a big way. So, naturally, all eyes will now be on which films from India will be officially sent for Oscars 2024.
As per a recent report (via Hindustan Times), the process of selecting India’s official entry for the prestigious Academy Awards 2024 has already kicked off. The Oscar committee has begun the selection process and has conducted some screenings in Chennai. Until now, the committee has received 22 entries from across the country. The final official announcement regarding the same might be made sometime in the next week after a decision is made by the 17-member jury.
As per reports, the Indian films which are being considered as India’s official Oscar 2024 entry include Karan Johar’s romantic drama ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’, Nandita Das’s ‘Zwigato’, Vivek Agnihotri’s controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’, and the critically acclaimed slice-of-life drama ‘Balagam’.
Amongst the Indian films which have been sent to the Film Federation of India include names like the period actioner ‘Dasara’, Rani Mukerji starrer ‘Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway’, the highly rated ‘Viduthalai Part 1’, recently released sports drama ‘Ghoomer’ Anant Mahadevan’s ‘The Storyteller’, ‘12th Fail’, and ‘Music School’.
Last year, India’s official entry for the Oscar in the ‘Best International Feature Film’ category was Pan Nalin’s ‘Chhello Show’. The decision received a backlash from a segment of movie buffs who thought that RRR’s name should have instead been sent for the important category. And eventually, the film couldn’t win.
So, this year, it would be super interesting to see which Indian film is finally named as the official Oscar 2024 entry for the ‘Best International Feature Film’ category. Out of the aforementioned titles, some of the films which have the potential to make it to the top are ‘Viduthalai Part 1’ (it has already attracted international attention when it cracked the top 50 films list on Letterboxd), the heartrending drama ‘Zwigato’ starring Kapil Sharma, and the family drama ‘Balagam’ (it has received positive feedback from global critics), etc. Which Indian film do you think deserves to be sent as India’s official entry for Oscars 2024 and has a bright chance to bag the ‘Best International Feature Film’ Award?