With 32 critics' and industry prizes handed out thus far, and Oscar nomination voting now less than 10 days away, 'RRR' is definitely in the reckoning on a slate of hopefuls where Steven Spielberg is one of the leading contenders with his semi-autobiographical 'The Fabelmans' and Cate Blanchett is locked in a riveting battle of nerves with Michelle Yeoh.
And the awards season is very much around, with the Palm Springs Film Festival kicking off later this week and the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards on their way to marking their first televised ceremonies of the season.
To find out who stands where, we turned to 'Variety', which has been tracking where the awards have gone so far. S.S. Rajamouli's 'RRR', starring Ram Charan and Jr NTR, has won the most awards for Best International Feature (nine, compared with seven for the Korean 'Decision to Leave', which won for Park Chan-wook the Cannes 2022 Best Director award) and Best Original Score (by M.M. Keeravani, a.k.a. M.M. Kreem to Hindi cinema watchers) -- four nods, behind the five won by 'The Batman' and 'Babylon' and above the three of 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio'.
The irony, though, is that 'RRR' is not India's official entry -- it is Pan Nalin's Gujarati film, 'Chhello Show' (Last Show) -- but the Tollywood blockbuster's American promoters, Variance Films, has included it in all award categories.
The leaders in the other main categories are:
Best Picture: 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' - 16
Best Director: The Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' - 16
Best Actor: Colin Farrell ('The Banshees of Inisherin') - 16; Brendan Fraser ('The Whale') - nine
Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh ('Everything Everywhere All at Once') - 15; Cate Blanchett ('Tar') - 11
Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan ('Everything Everywhere All at Once') - 24
Best Supporting Actress: Kerry Condon ('The Banshees of Inisherin') - nine
Original Screenplay: 'The Banshees of Inisherin' - 15; 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' - 10
Animated Feature: 'Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio' - 14; 'Marcel the Shell with Shoes On' - eight
Cinematography: 'Top Gun: Maverick' - 15
Film Editing: 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' - 10
The Oscars throw up real surprises every season and this year is not going to be any different. But this list of the leaders is indicative of how the people whose votes will determine who all will go home with the prized statuette, are thinking today.