Gondhal, a Marathi thriller, is India's official entry to Oscars 2027, the Film Federation of India (FFI) announced on Friday. The other films in the race included the Naga film Angh and the Tamil film Dorothy.
The movie, directed by Santosh Davakhar, will represent the country in the Best International Feature category at the 99th Academy Awards ceremony. The filmmaker won Silver Peacock Award at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2025.
The jury panel consisted of P Sheshadri, Vijay Patkar, Hutu Kanodia, Shanti Kumar, Sandeep Parashar, Sanjay Patil, Sabu Joseph, Anil Thomas, Vivek Vaswani, Bijon Dasgupta, Haasan, Vasan, and Tannishtha Chatterjee.
Thirty-three films were submitted, out of which 14 were in Hindi, four each in Marathi, Telugu, and Gujarati, three in Tamil and one in Malayalam, Konyak, and Nepali. One was also a silent film.
Last year, COVID-set drama Homebound, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, was selected as India's official entry to the Oscars. Fronted by Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa, the film couldn't make it to the Oscars long list.
The 99th edition of the Academy Awards is scheduled to be held on March 14, 2027, at the Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles.
Background
Set against the backdrop of Maharashtra's traditional Gondhal ritual and folk-performance form, Gondhal follows the story of Suman, a married woman whose life takes an unexpected turn as relationships, desire and deception begin to collide. What starts as a story rooted in everyday relationships gradually develops into a thriller, as Suman finds herself caught in difficult circumstances and attempts to find a way out.
Through Suman's journey, the film explores themes of love, desire, betrayal and the lengths people may go to when trying to escape situations they feel trapped in. At the same time, Gondhal brings Maharashtra's rich folk tradition to the forefront, examining the significance of the centuries-old performance form and its place in contemporary society.
The film stars Kishor Kadam, Ishita Deshmukh, Yogesh Sohoni, Nishad Bhoir, Anuj Prabhu and others, with music composed by veteran composer Ilaiyaraaja.
Gondhal also received recognition at the Bengaluru International Film Festival and Pune International Film Festival.
The film released on November 14, 2025.
