which premiered at the Venice International Film festival in 2015 and had a theatrical release in February 2016 has now been chosen as India’s official entry to the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 89th Academy Awards to be held in 2017.
The national award-winning film, directed by Vetrimaran, and produced by actor Dhanush’s Wunderbar Films, documents four migrant workers who suffer police brutality and corruption after being jailed on false charges. Part of the film is based on true events recorded in novel , written by M. Chandrakumar, an autorickshaw driver from Coimbatore.
Vetrimaran told that he was extremely happy and the news was a pleasant surprise. “The movie continues to be very relevant. We are now preparing for the next step, and hope the film will earn a nomination,” he said.
The last Tamil movie that made it to the list as official entry to the Oscars was , directed by, and starring Kamal Haasan. Here's a look back at all Indian entries since Aamir Khan's Lagaan in 2001.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay starring Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit as the three principal characters was thought to be India's best bet at the Oscars. Devdas was however selected by the Cannes jury for a special screening.
Sandeep Sawant's Marathi movie Shwaas follows the relationship of an old man and his grandson, and tells the story of the child's last day before he loses his sight after an operation. Shwaas was almost unanimously called the best film from India that year.
Shah Rukh Khan's Paheli might have been a big box office disaster. However, it was selected as India's entry to the Oscars in 2005 creating a furore since even though it had an interesting concept, it just wasn't the best representative for Indian cinema that year.
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Rang De Basanti took the country by storm and was pronounced the most entertaining film of the year. Telling the story of a bunch of youngsters who find a connect with their pre-independence revolutionaries, while growing a conscience of their own, Rang De Basanti struck a chord with Bollywood fans. It however, wasn't successful in getting a nomination.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Eklavya: The Royal Guard was chosen to represent Indian cinema at the Oscars in 2007, even though it wasn't the best film India had to offer that year. Agreeably, it didn't win anything.
Amole Gupte's film about dyslexia was a huge societal changing film. Solidly directed by Aamir Khan, who also plays a significant character in the film, Taare Zameen Par was submitted as India's entry to the Oscars in 2008. Sadly, it couldn't make it to the nomination list.
Paresh Mokashi's stellar debut with Harishchandrachi Factory follows the tale of the making of India's first film by father of Indian cinema Dadasaheb Phalke. The film was a comical and emotional take on the beginning of India's film industry. This was the second Marathi movie to be sent as an entry after 2004's Shwaas.
Anusha Rizvi's Peepli Live backed by Aamir Khan, was chosen to be India's entry for the Oscars in 2010. The film was a satirical take on farmer suicides and was Aamir Khan's fourth stab at the Oscars best foreign film category.
Malayalam film Abu, son of Adam was chosen to be India's entry for the Oscars in 2011. Salim Ahamed's directorial debut focuses on the life of an attar-seller whose only wish in life is to do the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
2011:
Barfi, directed by Anurag Basu and starring Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra was well-liked till it was announced as India's entry to the Oscars. That's when the plagiarism comments began. Anurag Basu was accused of lifting the script from multiple movies and making a mish-mash, while the director maintained he was merely paying homage to his favourite movies.
Gujarati film Good Road was selected as India's entry to the Oscars in 2013 (ahead of Ritesh Batra's The Lunchbox which had gotten shining reviews across the globe). Good Road didn't make it to the final five.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Liar's Dice was submitted as India's entry to the Oscars. The funny thing was hardly anyone had seen the film in India itself, it wasn't a big surprise that the film vanished quickly after submission.
Chaitanya Tamahane's debut feature Court tore the envelope for Indian cinema by documenting the drudgeries of India's judicial system, but it didn't make it to the final five.
