A controversy appears to be brewing between Gondhal director Santosh Davakhar and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, after the latter recently criticised India’s selection of films for the Oscars.
The comments were made after the Marathi film Gondhal was officially chosen as India’s entry in the Best International Feature Film category for the 99th Academy Awards.
In an interview with Variety India, Kashyap explained why India is not being able to make an impact at the Oscars, saying, “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.”
He agreed that “there is too much politics” in the selection. He was of the opinion that a lack of awareness is another reason why certain movies are not selected for such awards.
Commenting on the current film selection, he said, ”Gondhal should first try to get seen across festivals. That has to be the first step, or all the money spent on screenings or advertising is a waste.”
However, he added that it was too early for him to comment about the film’s chance at winning, as he had not watched it yet.
Reacting to Kashyap’s comments, Gondhal director Davakhar commented under the publication’s social media post.
He hinted that the filmmaker had no chance of watching the film, writing, “I deeply respect Anurag Kashyap Sir and his filmmaking. On the Bengaluru-Mumbai flight on 26 April at 23:55, I introduced Gondhal to him. He said he hadn't heard of it or watched it, but would definitely do so. Since then, it has neither been publicly available nor screened in Mumbai.”
Devakhar claimed that Gondhal has global appeal and wrote, “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,” he concluded.
