Dhurandhar wasn’t ‘Oscar material’, Main Vaapas Aaunga was in the running: jury member

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Entertainment Desk

In Short: Jury member Vivek Vaswani explains selection process.

Vivek Vaswani, a member of the 14-person Film Federation of India jury, revealed that Marathi film 'Gondhal' was chosen as India's official entry for the upcoming Oscars over 32 other titles, including Imtiaz Ali's 'Main Vaapas Aaunga'.

Vaswani stated that the jury was given 'very clear instructions' about the kind of film they had to select. He noted that 'Main Vaapas Aaunga' was a sensitive film about the trauma of war but did not receive enough votes due to concerns about its India-Pakistan storyline potentially not resonating with American audiences.

According to Vaswani, the final three films considered by the jury were 'Gondhal', 'Angh', and 'Main Vaapas Aaunga'. He emphasized the importance of uniqueness in films submitted to the Oscars, highlighting Ilaiyaraaja's music as a unique element of 'Main Vaapas Aaunga'.

Vaswani explained that while 'Main Vaapas Aaunga' was in the running, the jury ultimately chose 'Gondhal' as the film that best fit the criteria for the Oscars submission.

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“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,” he said.

Sources

The Indian Expresslink