India’s Oscar race has taken an intriguing turn, with Marathi thriller Gondhal beating high-profile Hindi contenders Dhurandhar and Main Vaapas Aaunga to become India’s official entry for the 99th Academy Awards. The Film Federation of India confirmed the selection on Friday, September 18, and jury member Vivek Vaswani has now explained why the Santosh Davakhar directorial emerged as the clear winner.
Vaswani, who was part of the 14 member jury, said the panel had a specific brief while choosing India’s submission. “The film has to represent Indian culture and tradition in such a way that it has global appeal. So we’re talking about a film that is Indian and global. This one was.”
Why Gondhal Won The Jury
Written and directed by Santosh Davakhar, Gondhal unfolds over a single night in a remote village in Maharashtra during a traditional Gondhal ceremony. The ritual setting, rooted in music, dance and mythology, becomes the stage for a murder mystery, giving the film a striking mix of folk culture and suspense.
That fusion set it apart from the rest of the field. Vaswani said, “It’s a night of intrigue, it’s a night of murder. But that whole night is a festival and the whole night they sing and dance. So the entire intrigue and suspense of the screenplay was covered in a layer of music and dance, which is completely Indian because it is set in a remote village in Maharashtra.”
He added, “And then they call Ilaiyaraaja to do the music. It just made the film unique. And it is very important for anything that we send to the Oscars to be completely unique.”
Why Main Vaapas Aaunga And Dhurandhar Missed Out
Vaswani revealed that the final three films before the last round of voting were Gondhal, Angh and Imtiaz Ali’s Main Vaapas Aaunga. He said the jury was concerned about how the India Pakistan backdrop of Main Vaapas Aaunga would connect with Academy voters in the United States. “We thought anything to do with India-Pakistan may not resonate with the audience in America. I mean, it’s like Israel sending an anti-Palestine film,” he said.
He also clarified that the film’s politics were not the issue. “The important thing is that Main Vaapas Aaunga talked about the trauma of war. It was not an anti-Pakistan film. It was not an anti-India film. It was a very sensitive film, the way only Imtiaz Ali can do. But it didn’t get enough votes from the jury.”
On Dhurandhar, Vaswani offered the bluntest assessment of all: “Couple of people liked it but we didn’t think it was Oscar material.”
That made the final result even more emphatic.
What Gondhal’s Selection Means
A unanimous jury vote instantly gives Gondhal a stronger launch than a closely contested selection would have. In a year packed with higher-profile contenders, the film did not just edge past the competition, it secured complete backing from the final jury room.
That matters as India begins positioning its campaign for the 99th Academy Awards. A film that wins every jury vote arrives with a clear internal mandate, and Gondhal now carries that distinction into the international race. For the makers, this is not just a nomination announcement but a major prestige moment. For the wider industry, it is a reminder that a culturally rooted regional story can still overpower bigger mainstream titles when the jury sees a sharper Oscar fit.
For now, the message from the selection is decisive: Gondhal was not merely chosen, it was backed without a split.
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