Mumbai: Zoya Akhtar directorial Gully Boy, starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in the lead roles, has been declared as India’s official entry for the 92nd Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category, earlier known as Best Foreign Language Film category.
Directed by Zoya Akhtar, Gully Boy is about Murad (Ranveer), a rapper from the slums of Mumbai, who wants to rise above his socio-economic status to become a star. Despite being discouraged over and over again, he manages to take the underground rap scene by storm. The film is inspired by the life of street rappers Divine and Naezy.
The cast includes Alia Bhatt, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Amruta Subhash, Vijay Varma, Kalki Koechlin and Vijay Raaz. Written by Akhtar and Reema Kagti and produced by her company Tiger Baby and Excel Entertainment, Gully Boy was released on February 14. The hip-hop-heavy soundtrack was produced by Ankur Tewari.
The Calcutta Times tweeted on Saturday that the Film Federation of India jury has decided to send the Zoya Akhtar-directorial for Oscars. In the video, the jury said that the film was selected because of its infectious energy.
The jury chosen by Film Federation of India announced the Indian nomination for Oscars. The film selected is Gully Boy.
.@ZoyaAkhtarOff @RanveerOfficial @aliaa08 pic.twitter.com/T4KgqCYy14— Calcutta Times (@Calcutta_Times) September 21, 2019
No Indian film has ever won an Oscar. The last Indian film that made it to the final five in the Best Foreign Film category list was Ashutosh Gowariker’s “Lagaan” in 2001.
“Mother India” (1958) and “Salaam Bombay” (1989) are the other two Indian movies to have made it to the top five. The 92nd Academy Awards will be announced February 9, 2020.
