Here is a piece of exciting news for the fans of Malayalam movie Jallikattu. The film has been selected as India's official entry for the 93rd Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. Yes, you heard that right.

Malayalam film Jallikattu is India's entry for Oscars 2021
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About the film

'Jallikettu' is based on a short story, titled 'Maoist', written by Hareesh S, who also adapted the screenplay along with R. Jayakumar. The film that released in 2019 to rave critic reviews and box office success will now be in the running to secure a nomination in the 'Best International Feature Film' category.

Malayalam film Jallikattu

Lijo Jose Pellissery directs the film. The film stars Antony Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sabumon Abdusamad,

Jallikattu was chosen out of 27 films. Some of the other movies in the race to be India's entry for Oscars 2021 were:

Malayalam film Jallikattu is India's entry for Oscars 2021

Jallikattu was chosen out of 27 films. Some of the other movies in the race to be India's entry for Oscars 2021 were, Amitabh Bachchan-Ayushmann Khurranan starrer 'Gulabo Sitabo', Anushka Sharma's production 'Bulbbul', Priyanka Chopra starrer 'The Sky is Pink', Nawazuddin Siddiqui's 'Serious Men' and even the Janhvi Kapoor starrer 'Gunjan Saxena'.

The reason why the film is nominated

Sharing the reason behind choosing Jallikattu, Rahul Rawail, Chairman, Jury Board – Film Federation Of India, heaped praise on the film's theme, production quality and Lijo Jose Pellissery's direction.

He said:

It is a film which really brings out the raw side of human beings, that we are worse than animals. Human instincts are worse than animals. The film has been depicted wonderfully. It's a production that all of us should be proud of. The film has been shot very well. The emotions, which come out, moved all of us. Lijo is an extremely competent director. So, that's why we zeroed in on Jallikattu.

Let's see how fans of the film reacted to this wonderful piece of news.

Watch the trailer of Malayalam film Jallikattu below:

The procedure of voting

Films in this category are produced outside the US with a predominantly non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features. This is the second year wherein award will be given under the name of 'Best International Feature Film', after a change in April 2019 from 'Foreign-Language Film'.

In a bid towards a more 'inclusive' awards show, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) invited Bollywood stars, Alia Bhatt, Hrithik Roshan and costume designer Neeta Lulla to join the 819 artistes and executives on their pannel.

Other prominent Indian names to receive invitations were casting director Nandini Shrikent, documentary filmmakers Nishtha Jain and Amit Madheshiya, visual effects supervisors Vishal Anand and Sandeep Kamal.

As members, these artists will get to vote across categories for the upcoming Academy Awards.

The shortlist of 10 will be unveiled on February 9, 2021.

In another change to the eligibility rules, films that had a previously planned theatrical release but are/were initially made available through a commercial SVoD service may now qualify for consideration. This came in as a welcomed change, considering that standard rules made a theatrical release compulsory.

When will the award take place?

The Award ceremony was postponed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The show was initially set to be held on February 28, before both the ceremony and eligibility period were delayed for two months, citing delays in film releases and the closing of theatres owing to the pandemic.

For the film to be considered in the Oscar race, it should have been released in their respective countries between the expanded dates of October 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020, contrary to the previous time frame of October-September.

The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place on April 25, 2021.

Last years' nomination

Zoya Akhtar's commercially successful 'Gully Boy', was sent as India's official entry to the 92nd Academy Awards. The film, however, did not cut the 91 films that were in the race. The South Korea blockbuster, 'Parasite' came out triumphant in the International Feature Film category and created history by going on to become the first non-English film also to win Best Picture.

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