‘Gondhal’ becomes India’s official entry for Oscars 2027:Marathi thriller chosen from 34 films for the 99th Academy Awards

Marathi film ‘Gondhal’ has been selected as India’s official entry for the 99th Academy Awards (Oscars 2027). The Film Federation of India (FFI) officially announced this on Friday. The thriller will represent the country in the ‘Best International Feature Film’ category at the Oscars. A total of 33 films from India were in the Oscar race this time, and the selection committee chose ‘Gondhal’. 33 films were in the race, including 14 Hindi films A total of 33 films in various languages from across the country were submitted to the FFI this year for Oscar consideration. Hindi had the highest representation, with 14 films. In addition, four films each were submitted in Marathi, Telugu and Gujarati, while there were three Tamil films and one each in Malayalam and Nagamese. The 14 Hindi films on the list of 33 Indian films are Haq, 120 Bahadur, Tera Mera Naata, Main Wapas Aaunga, Oh My Dog, Border 2, Khunta, Dhurandhar, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, Governor, 2020 Delhi, Ikkees, Obsess and Hanuman Ansh. Despite strong contenders from Hindi and other regional languages, the Marathi film ‘Gondhal’ emerged victorious. Gondhal is a psychological thriller This Marathi film, with a runtime of 2 hours, is a psychological thriller based on the folk tradition and religious ritual of ‘Gondhal’ in rural Maharashtra. The film has been written and directed by Santosh Davkhar. The story revolves around an all-night Gondhal ritual held at the home of newlyweds Anand and Suman. During the prayers and celebrations, long-suppressed disputes, personal grudges and political tensions among the villagers begin to surface. Sarjerao, the village patil’s son, is upset because he could not marry Suman and is unable to accept the marriage. Gradually, the sacred ritual turns into a crime and suspense drama. Kishor Kadam, Ishita Deshmukh, Yogesh Sohani, Nishad Bhoir and Suresh Vishwakarma play the lead roles in the film. The film’s music has been composed by the legendary musician Ilaiyaraaja. Director Santosh Dawkhare has also received the Silver Peacock (Best Director) award at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) for making the film. 13-member jury panel makes the decision The Film Federation of India formed a special jury to select the film. The jury panel included prominent figures such as P Sheshadri, Vijay Patkar, Hitu Kanodia, Shanti Kumar, Sandeep Parashar, Sanjay Patil, Sabu Joseph, Anil Thomas, Vivek Vaswani, Bijon Dasgupta, Hassan, Vasan and Tanishtha Chatterjee. After thoroughly reviewing all the entries, the jury members decided to send this Marathi thriller to the Oscars 2027 stage. Last year, ‘Homebound’ was India’s Oscar entry Last year, Homebound was sent as India’s entry for the Oscars. Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa played the lead roles in the film. In 2025, a total of 24 films in different languages were considered for India’s entry to the Oscars. Homebound was selected from among them. At the time, selection committee chairperson N Chandra said the decision had been very difficult. A look at the history and interesting facts of the Oscars- Louis B. Mayer, head of Hollywood studio MGM, laid the foundation for the Oscar Awards in 1927 by forming a committee to appreciate films. After 2 years of preparations, the first Oscar ceremony was held in Los Angeles in 1929, with 270 people in attendance. The first Oscar Awards ceremony lasted 15 minutes. In 1939, the Academy Award was renamed Oscar. In 1929, the first Best Actor award went to Hollywood actor Emil Jannings, but before him, the Academy wanted to give this award to a trained German Shepherd dog named Rin Tin Tin, who was rescued in World War 2. He worked in 27 Hollywood films. Academy members changed their decision with the thought that giving the first award to a dog would send a wrong message to society. N Chandra had said, “These were films that touched people’s lives.” Directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, Homebound was based on Basharat Peer’s 2020 New York Times article ‘Taking Amrit Home’. ‘One Battle After Another’ won six awards, including Best Film At the 98th Oscars (2026), ‘One Battle After Another’ won the most awards, taking home six, including Best Picture. Michael B. Jordan was named Best Actor for ‘Sinners’, while Jessie Buckley was chosen Best Actress for ‘Hamnet’. ‘Sinners’ received the most nominations, with 16, but won four awards. Meanwhile, two documentaries by Indian-origin filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir were nominated. Priyanka Chopra appeared as a presenter at the Oscars for the second time. Read the full story here…