India has selected Pan Nalin’s “Last Film Show” (“Chhello Show”) to represent the country in the best international feature category at the upcoming 95th Academy Awards and this has not gone well on the social media with many users stating this as lost chance for the country. Now, the U.S. distributor for the film has opted to launch a full awards campaign for the action drama and is calling on the 10,000 Academy members to consider voting for the film in all categories, reports Yahoo entertainment.
The S.S. Rajamouli film will be submitted for best picture, director (S.S. Rajamouli), original screenplay (Rajamouli and V. Vijayendra Prasad), lead actor (for both N.T. Rama Rao Jr and Ram Charan), supporting actor (Ajay Devgn), supporting actress (Alia Bhatt), original song (“Naatu Naatu”), original score (M.M. Keeravaani), cinematography, production design, film editing, costume design, makeup and hairstyling, sound and visual effects.
Also, the good part is that the film is not yet available on the Academy Streaming Room and this will propel many voters to see it on the big screen in order to highlight its epic scale and breathtaking visuals.
“Over the last six months, we have seen the joy that S.S. Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’ has brought to global audiences,” says the president of Variance Films, Dylan Marchetti, reports the publication.
“We have seen the film gross over $140 million worldwide to become one of India’s highest grossing films of all time and become the first film in history to trend globally on Netflix for over 14 weeks. We have seen the film fill up theaters with cheering audiences months after its initial release, including the historic TCL Chinese IMAX theater in Hollywood, where it will play next Friday to an audience that sold out of one of the largest theaters in the country in just 15 minutes. Most importantly, we have heard fans from around the world tell us that they believe this is one of the best films of the year from any nation. We agree. We proudly invite the Academy to consider ‘RRR’ in all categories," he added.
The three-hour action epic follows two patriotic but philosophically opposed men (Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr.), who team up to rescue a girl from British colonial officials in 1920s Delhi. The film, distributed by Variance Films in the U.S., has been one of the most popular titles of the year, becoming a trending topic on social media over the past few months.
With Rs. 240 crores (US $30 million) worldwide on its first day, “RRR” broke the record for the biggest opening day collectively earned by an Indian film.
In Oscar history, only three Indian films have been nominated for best international feature — ”Mother India” (1957), “Salaam Bombay!” (1988) and “Lagaan” (2001), and none have won.
