Gujarati film ‘Chhello Show' is India's official entry for the 95th Academy Awards and the film's director Pan Nalin is elated. In a recent interview, he recalled director Ashutosh Gowariker's reaction after watching the movie and mentioned that he was the one who told him that his film will going to the Oscars.
Speaking with Times of India, the director said 'And guess who was the first in this industry who in fact went ecstatic after seeing it! Ashutosh Gowariker. He said, 'Pack your bags, you guys are going to the Oscars'. This happened 5 months ago. We laughed then and forgot about it. Aaj yaad aa raha hai (Today I remember it).'
Ashutosh Gowariker's film 'Lagaan' was nominated for best foreign language film at the 74th Academy Awards. The film starred Aamir Khan and Gracy Singh in the lead roles.
When asked about his film surpassing ‘The Kashmir Files’ to become India's official entry, Pan Nalin said, ‘I am sorry; I can't comment on that. It's a question to the jury which comprised 17 people. It was a unanimous choice. I can assume the reason to be only the fact that the jury was pleasantly surprised with my film. They had seen the other films which the media was talking about since 2 days, as India's Oscar entry- The Kashmir Files, RRR and Gangubai Kathiawadi.’
'Chhello Show' is a coming-of-age drama film about a young boy's love cinema in a village in Gujarat. Film Federation of India (FFI) president TP Aggarwal said that the film was chosen unanimously. The film is titled 'Last Film Show' in English and will hit the theatres on October 14.
The 95th Academy Awards are scheduled to be held on March 12, 2023, in Los Angeles.
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