According to a report on Tuesday, Gujarati coming-of-age drama Chhello Show is India’s official entry for the 2023 Academy Awards. The tweet read, “Gujarati film Chhello Show is India’s official entry for Oscars 2023: Film Federation of India.” The film will only be eligible for the prize if it is included on the list of nominees.
Pan Nalin, the film’s director, tweeted on Tuesday: “OMG! What a night this is going to be! Gratitude to Film Federation of India and thank you FFI jury members. Thank you for believing in the ‘Chhello Show’. Now I can breathe again and believe in cinema that entertains, inspires and enlightens.” In his tweet, he included the hashtag #Oscars.
Pan Nalin directed Chhello Show, titled ‘Last Film Show’ in English, has been selected as India’s official entry to the 95th Academy awards and it stars Bhavin Rabari, Bhavesh Shrimali, Richa Meena, Dipen Raval, and Paresh Mehta in pivotal parts, had its world premiere as the opening film at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2021.
It has been selected in the Best International Feature Film category.
Earlier it was speculated that either The Kashmir Files or RRR will make it to the list. However, the coming-of-age drama ‘Chello Show’ made it to the cut. ‘Chello Show’, will release in theatres countrywide on October 14.
The film shows a nine-years-old boy from Chalala, a village in Saurashtra in Gujarat state of India, who entered a cinema hall projection booth by bribing a cinema projector technician, and watched several films through summer.
The 95th Academy Awards will be held on March 12, 2023, at the Dolly Theatre in Los Angeles. The general entry category submission date for the 2023 Academy Awards is November 15. The preliminary voting will begin on December 12, and the shortlists will be released on December 21.
For the last few years, India’s Oscar entries have included Koozhangal, Jallikattu, Gully Boy, Village Rockstars, Newton, and Visaranani, all of which failed to make the Oscar shortlist. Mother India, Salaam Bombay, and Lagaan are the only Indian films to have received Oscar nominations.