Marathi film 'Gondhal' selected as India's official entry for Oscars 2027

Marathi film ‘Gondhal’, written and directed by Santosh Davakhar, has been selected as India’s official entry for the 99th Academy Awards, the Film Federation of India announced on Friday. The film will represent India in the International Feature Film category at the Oscars 2027.Set against the backdrop of rural Maharashtra, ‘Gondhal’ unfolds over the course of a night during a traditional ritual centred around a newly married couple. The film was chosen from a list of 33 contenders, with P Seshadri serving as the chairperson of the selection committee, according to PTI.The selection marks another milestone for Marathi cinema at the Academy Awards. ‘Gondhal’ becomes the fourth Marathi film to be chosen as India’s official Oscar entry, following ‘Shwaas’ (2005), ‘Harishchandrachi Factory’ (2009) and ‘Court’ (2015).Santosh Davakhar’s film has also previously earned recognition at the International Film Festival of India, where he won the Silver Peacock for Best Director for ‘Gondhal’.Last year, India had selected Neeraj Ghaywan’s ‘Homebound’ as its official submission for the Oscars. However, the film did not secure a nomination.India is yet to win the Best International Feature Film category, which was earlier known as the Best Foreign Language Film category. Three Indian films have received nominations in the category so far — Mehmood Khan’s ‘Mother India’, Mira Nair’s ‘Salaam Bombay’ and Ashutosh Gowariker’s ‘Lagaan’. Deepa Mehta’s ‘Water’, which starred John Abraham and Lisa Ray, was also nominated but represented Canada.The 99th Academy Awards are scheduled to take place on March 14, 2027, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.