Davakhar won Silver Peacock for Best Director at IFFI
Mumbai: Marathi film ‘Gondhal’ has been chosen as India’s official entry to the Oscars 2027, the Film Federation of India announced on Friday.
Written and directed by Santosh Davakhar, the film is set in rural Maharashtra and plays out over a night of a traditional ritual centred around a newly-wed couple.
The film was chosen as India’s submission for Best International Feature category for the 99th Academy Awards from a list of 33 films, said P Sheshadri, chairperson of the selection committee.
“This year we’ve had four Marathi films, 14 Hindi films and others films, all the films were good. It’s a happy moment for Indian cinema, for Marathi cinema. This time the official entry is ‘Gondhal,’” Sheshadri said at a press conference here.
“We’ve watched 33 films of different languages in last ten days. There were many other good films for which we were debating about. ‘Angh’ and ‘Ikkis’ were in top three list apart from ‘Gondhal,’” he added.
‘Gondhal’ had its world premiere at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa in 2025 in the Indian Panorama segment. Davakhar won the Silver Peacock for Best Director at the festival.
Set against the midnight carnival of the ritualistic Gondhal dance in rural Maharashtra, the movie follows Suman, a woman trapped in an oppressive marriage, who plots a murder and an escape with her forbidden lover, blurring the lines between devotion, deception and fate.
Actor Ishita Deshmukh plays the lead role in the movie, which also features Kishor Kadam, Yogesh Sohani, Nishad Bhoir, Anuj Prabhu and Dhru Thoke. Veteran composer Ilaiyaraaja has scored music for the film.
Sheshadri said the selection process was challenging as the lineup featured several strong films, including Aditya Dhar’s blockbuster spy saga ‘Dhurandhar’.
“We had many other films from other parts of India, but we have some regulations and criteria to send film to Oscars…Actually, the film should represent Indian culture, Indian ethos.”
“In those aspects, ‘Gondhal’ stands first among the others. Also, the filmmaking, the use of music and songs, the performances and the human content they want to present on the screen. In all those criteria, ‘Gondhal’ was the best film among the others this year,” he said.
‘Ghondal’ is the fourth Marathi film to be submitted for the Oscars. The earlier titles were ‘Shwaas’ (2005), ‘Harishchandrachi Factory’ (2009) and ‘Court’ (2015).
Davakhar, an IIM graduate from Thane who trained in screenplay writing at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), said he was proud to represent the country with his film.
“We were confident when we made and submitted the film that it would become India’s official Oscar entry. I am proud that my film will represent India,” Davakhar said.
The filmmaker, who earlier made short films such as ‘Adnyat’, ‘Antar 19’ and ‘Ajanvruksha’, said the team is now preparing for an extensive promotional campaign ahead of the Oscars. “We have a plan for the next six months on how to take this forward. I understand the responsibility India has given us and we are going to make our best efforts,” he added.
The list of 33 films that were submitted to FFI also included Yami Gautam’s ‘Haq’, Aditya Dhar-directed, ‘Dhurandhar’ and ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’, ‘Hanuman Ansh’, Sunny Deol-fronted ‘Border 2’, Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’, Ram Charan’s ‘Peddi’ and Farhan Akhtar’s ‘120 Bahadur’.
Last year, India picked Neeraj Ghaywan’s pandemic drama ‘Homebound’ for its official submission to the Oscars. However, it could not make it to the final nominations.
No Indian film has managed to win in the Best International Feature film segment, which was earlier known as the Best Foreign Film category.
Only three Indian films have received nominations in the category – Mehmood Khan’s ‘Mother India’, Mira Nair’s ‘Salaam Bombay’ and Ashutosh Gowarikar’s ‘Lagaan’. Deepa Mehta’s ‘Water’, starring John Abraham and Lisa Ray, also received a nomination but it was submitted from Canada.
The 99th Oscars will take place on Sunday, March 14, 2027.
