Marathi film Gondhal has been selected as India’s official entry for the 99th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. Now, Gondhal director Santosh Davakhar has responded to his remarks.
However, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap did not appear convinced by India’s selection and said that the country often chooses the “wrong films” for the Oscars, citing The Lunchbox and All We Imagine As Light as examples of films he believed should have been selected.
Santosh previously won the Silver Peacock for Best Director at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) for the film. In an interview with Variety India, Anurag spoke about why India has struggled to make an impact at the Oscars and said, “Because we select absolutely wrong films. Even if we did have the chance to select the right ones like The Lunchbox and All We Imagine As Light, we messed it up. The film is rooted in the traditional Gondhal ritual, a centuries-old Maharashtrian folk performance involving devotional singing, music and dance.
On the Bengaluru-Mumbai flight on 26 April at 23:55, I introduced GONDHAL to him. If Gondhal won the Silver Peacock there, NFDC should play a role in submitting its Regional IFFI winners for international festivals for exposure. He added that the competition at the Oscars is particularly tough this year and that it would be difficult to beat the international entries. However, he clarified that it was too early for him to comment on Gondhal as he had not seen the selected film or many of the other submissions. He added, “The most important qualification for eligibility should be that the film should have gone to some international festival outside India or should have had American distribution or should have had an American distributor before year-end. Gondhal should first try to get seen at festivals. That has to be the first step, or all the money spent on screenings or advertising is a waste. Also, the IFFI is a recognised Indian film festival. Reacting to Anurag’s comments, Gondhal director Santosh Davakhar responded in the comments section of the publication’s social media post. He wrote, “I deeply respect Anurag Kashyap Sir and his filmmaking.
Anurag agreed that there is “too much politics” in the selection process and said the issue was also a lack of awareness. He said he hadn’t heard of or watched it, but would definitely do so.
Since then, it has neither been publicly available nor screened in Mumbai.”
He concluded, “My humble request to all audiences, please watch the film before passing a verdict. Made by a debut filmmaker from outside the film fraternity, GONDHAL is a psychological thriller blending Marathi culture with global appeal. It is created for the big screen-not OTT. We understand the responsibility of representing India and will not let our country down. Please watch it in theatres upon its upcoming re-release and stand behind us as we face the world.”
