After winning the Silver Peacock at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa last year, the Marathi psychological thriller is now India’s official entry at the 99th Academy Awards
RAMANDEEP KAUR | NT BUZZ
Growing up in Maharashtra, Santosh Davakhar was familiar with Gondhal rituals, their music, worship, and storytelling. He later made the ritual an important part of ‘Gondhal’, a Marathi psychological thriller about marriage, desire and obsession. The film has now been selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category.
Written, directed, and produced by Davakhar, ‘Gondhal’ was selected from 33 contenders, with filmmaker P. Seshadri serving as chairperson of the selection committee. Around 95% of the cast and technical crew are from Maharashtra.
The selection brings Marathi cinema back into India’s Oscar campaign 11 years after Chaitanya Tamhane’s ‘Court’ represented India in the category.
The 99th Academy Awards are scheduled to be held on March 14, 2027, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The International Feature Film shortlist is expected in December 2026, followed by the Oscar nominations on January 21, 2027.
In ‘Gondhal’, Suman, a young woman trapped in a marriage, tries to regain control of her life by manipulating her suitor Sarjerao’s obsession with her to flee with her lover Sahebrao. Their relationship is caught between honour, tradition and social expectations, and a night of ritual and devotion ends in a deadly confrontation.
“I wanted to show a side of India beyond stories of poverty and caste conflict, while keeping ‘Gondhal’ set in Maharashtra. They are important realities but they do not represent the whole of India,” says Davakhar, who admits that the selection came as a surprise. The initial excitement has since given way to preparations for the campaign. He says, “I am nervous but we are preparing ourselves.”
On the film being selected alongside bigger-budget contenders, Davakhar does not see budget as the deciding factor. He says the selection committee must have felt that ‘Gondhal’, which is his debut feature film, could represent India well internationally.
Actor Anuj Prabhu from Mandrem, one of the film’s lead actors, who plays Sahebrao, says Davakhar sent a message to the film’s WhatsApp group after the selection. The cast and crew soon joined a video call to celebrate.
For Prabhu, the selection also brought back memories of his earlier association with IFFI. He had worked with the Entertainment Society of Goa in 2014 as a delegation executive, helping cast and crew members and other delegates.
The film is set in a period when Gondhal performances were a major form of entertainment in rural areas. Preparing for the role required Prabhu to learn about the older form of Gondhal depicted
in the film. He took part in workshops with Gondhal performers from the Nashik and Yeola region, learning their dance movements and the role of the Murali, a male performer who traditionally played female characters.
Prabhu says the dialect was another challenge. Although he speaks Marathi, Davakhar wanted the actors to use the dialect spoken in the rural Nashik region where he grew up.
Prabhu says, “We were speaking to them and observing the way they spoke and the rhythm of their speech.”
‘Gondhal’ is being prepared for release in five Indian languages, with a worldwide theatrical release also planned. Davakhar says the film was made for the big screen and has urged audiences to avoid pirated copies.
The selection as India’s official entry does not constitute an Academy Award nomination. The film must undergo the Academy’s subsequent voting process before the International Feature Film shortlist and final nominations are announced.
