Gujarati film 'Chhello Show' is India's official entry for Oscars; here's all about it

The Film Federation of India (FFI), on September 20, announced that Chhello Show is India's official entry for the 'Best International Feature Film' category at the Academy Awards/Oscars 2023. Titled Last Film Show in English, the movie is a Gujarati coming-of-age drama and is slated for a country-wide release on October 14. The Oscars are scheduled to take place on March 12 in Los Angeles, California. 

The movie has been produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur's banner Roy Kapur Films, Jugaad Motion Pictures, Monsoon Films, Chhello Show LLP, and Marc Duale and made it to the global stage as the opening film at the Tribeca Film Festival in June last year.

Chhello Show's plot and cast

Directed by Pan Nalin, the movie is based on a plot that draws inspiration from the director's own life of falling in love with cinema at a young age. The story is set in a remote rural village of Saurashtra and revolves around a nine-year-old boy named Samay (played by Bhavin Rabari), who begins a lifelong love affair with cinema and spends an entire summer watching movies from the projection booth of a rundown movie theatre.

Featuring actors namely Bhavin Rabari, Bhavesh Shrimali, Richa Meena, Dipen Raval and Paresh Mehta, the movie has already won multiple awards including the Golden Spike at the 66th Valladolid Film Festival in Spain. 

Indian films in the Oscars

The Oscars last year saw the Tamilian drama Koozhangal (Pebbles) as the official entry, however, it failed to make it to the top 5. The movie was directed by Vinothraj PS and was about a man looking for his wife across the deserts of Tamil Nadu after she flees due to domestic violence. Talking of the top 5 list, Aamir Khan's blockbuster Lagaan (2001) was the last film representing India among the top nominees. Prior to it, Mother India (1958) and Salaam Bombay (1989) were the ones that made the final cut. 

As for the entries, several critically-acclaimed movies such as Rajkummar Rao's Newton, Ranveer Singh's Gully Boy and Irrfan Khan's Life of Pi have been sent to the Oscars for the 'Best International Feature Film' category.

(With PTI inputs)