The Film Federation of India (FFI) announced the selection on Friday, bringing a Marathi film and a story rooted in Maharashtra’s cultural traditions to the international spotlight. Marathi cinema is heading to the Oscars . Santosh Davakhar’s Gondhal has been chosen as India’s official entry in the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards.
P Seshadri, chairperson of the selection committee, said the film was picked as India’s Oscar 2027 entry from a list of 33 contenders. The 117-minute Marathi film is written and directed by Santosh Davakhar and stars Ishita Deshmukh, Kishor Kadam, Yogesh Sohoni and Nishad Bhoir in key roles. It follows Harishchandrachi Factory (2009), Shwaas (2005) and Court (2015), which previously represented India in the race for the Academy Awards.
Gondhal is a thriller that unfolds against the backdrop of the traditional midnight ritual from which it takes its name. The film has already found recognition on the festival circuit, with Davakhar winning the Silver Peacock for Best Director at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Set in rural Maharashtra, Gondhal unfolds over one night, against the charged atmosphere of the traditional Gondhal ritual. At the centre of the story is Suman (Ishita Deshmukh), a young woman living in what appears to be a comfortable marriage with wealthy Anand (Yogesh Sohoni), but is far from happy. Her life takes a turn when she falls for Saheba, a Gondhali performer. Wanting to escape her marriage, Suman comes up with a risky plan and pulls Anand’s obsessed cousin Sarjerao (Nishad Bhoir) into it. What begins as an attempt to reclaim her freedom soon leads to murder, forcing Suman to navigate a dangerous mix of love, betrayal, manipulation and survival. Gondhal is the fourth Marathi film to be chosen as India’s official entry for the Oscars.
India is yet to win the Best International Feature Film award, a category that was earlier known as Best Foreign Film. Last year, Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound , starring Ishaan Khatter , Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor was selected as India’s official entry for Oscars but it did not get selected in the final list of the category.
