Jallikattu, India’s official entry for Oscars, out of race

New Delhi: Jallikatu, Malayalam-language movie and India’s official entry for Oscars under Best International Feature category, has failed to make the cut.

Jallikattu is not part of the shortlist of 15 features that will be vying for a spot in the final five, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Wednesday.

Directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery and starring Antony Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sabumon Abdusamad and others, the regional flick is an action-drama on a wild bull escaping a slaughterhouse and entering a remote village.

The movie was liked by critics and received widespread acclaim at Toronto International Film Festival and Busan International Film Festival. Director Pellissery won the best director trophy at the 50th International Film Festival of India in 2019.

Jallikattu was the third Malayalam movie, after Guru and Adaminte Makan Abu, to be selected by India for its official entry.

The fifteen movies selected includes Another Round, Andrei Konchalovsky’s Dear Comrades! (Russia), The Mole Agent (Chile), Collective (Romania), Quo Vadis (Bosnia), Aida? (Herzegovina), Two of Us (France), La Llorona (Guatemala), Better Days (Hong Kong), Sun Children (Iran), Night of the Kings (Ivory Coast), I’m No Longer Here (Mexico), Hope (Norway), A Sun (Taiwan) and The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia).

Under Best International Feature, 93 countries are eligible to send their selections. Among the top 15, the best five nominations will be chosen by a jury and announced on March 15.

No Indian movie had won Oscars, the highest award in the cinematic world since its existence for 92 years. (UNI)