EntertainmentPosted at: Sep 19 2026 2:47PM


Maha CM Fadnavis congratulates makers of Marathi film ‘Gondhal’ on Oscar 2027 selection

Mumbai, Sep 19 (UNI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday congratulated the makers of Marathi feature film ‘Gondhal’ after it was selected as India’s official entry for the 99th Academy Awards, scheduled to be held in Los Angeles in 2027.
Oscar Awards 2027 is organised every year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) based in Beverly Hills, California, to recognise outstanding filmmaking talent.
Directed by Santosh Davakhar, ‘Gondhal’ was selected by the Film Federation of India (FFI) jury from 33 films submitted for consideration.
‘Gondhal’ is the fourth Marathi-language film to be selected as India’s official Oscar entry, after ‘Shwaas’ (2005), ‘Harishchandrachi Factory’ (2009) and ‘Court’ (2015).
Reacting to the selection, Fadnavis posted on social media X, ““A proud moment for Marathi cinema! Director Santosh Davkhar’s Marathi film ‘Gondhal’ has been selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars 2027. The selection committee of the Film Federation of India has selected ‘Gondhal’ from 33 films, and this film, which tells the story of Maharashtra’s rich folk tradition and culture, will now represent India on the international stage. Heartiest congratulations to the entire team of ‘Gondhal’! Best wishes for this story rooted in the soil of Maharashtra to reach new heights on the global stage!”
He congratulated the entire team and said the film, rooted in Maharashtra’s rich folk traditions and culture, would now represent India on the international stage.
The film was selected over other submissions, including Hindi films ‘Dhurandhar’ and ‘Hanuman Ansh’, for consideration in the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards.
The ceremony is scheduled for March 14, 2027, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
A total of 33 films were submitted to the Film Federation of India (FFI) for consideration. The submissions included 14 Hindi films, four each in Marathi, Telugu and Gujarati, three in Tamil, and one each in Malayalam and Nagamese, besides a silent film.
The FFI selection panel comprised P Sheshadri, Vijay Patkar, Hutu Kanodia, Shanti Kumar, Sandeep Parashar, Sanjay Patil, Sabu Joseph, Anil Thomas, Vivek Vaswani, Bijon Dasgupta, Haasan Vasan and Tannishtha Chatterjee.
Davakhar, who is based in Sinnar in Nashik district, said the selection was a major moment for the team.“India and FFI have shown their faith in our team and our product. I am feeling very nervous but we are ready for the campaign. We have already hired most of the media and public relations team in Los Angeles,” he said.
Set in rural Maharashtra, ‘Gondhal’ unfolds over a tense midnight during a traditional Gondhal ceremony, a folk ritual involving drumming, devotional dance and storytelling associated with deities such as Bhavani and Khandoba.
The psychological thriller follows Suman (Ishita Deshmukh), an unhappily married young woman who falls in love with Sahebrao (Anuj Prabhu), a charismatic Gondhali performer, and seeks a way out of her unfulfilled life.
She manipulates the emotions and obsession of her husband’s cousin Sarjerao (Nishad Bhoir) and attempts to persuade him to kill her husband Anand (Yogesh Sohoni).
Earlier, Davakhar won the Silver Peacock Award at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2025 for ‘Gondhal’.
The ceremony is popularly known as the ‘Oscars’, due to its association with the solid bronze-plated in 24-karat gold Oscar statuette, officially named the ‘Academy Award of Merit’, which stands 13.5 inches tall, weighs 3.0 kg and depicts an Art Deco style knight holding a crusader’s sword, standing on a five-spoke celluloid film reel.
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