Oscars 2023: RRR's songs, Chhello Show, other films shortlisted; All you need to know about voting and eligibility process

It's a great honour for the Indian film industry as The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced shortlists in 10 categories on Thursday. It's a proud moment as four Indian films are in contention to advance to the nomination stage.

Indian films that are shortlisted for Oscars 2023; nominations to be announced on January 24

Jr NTR and Ram Charan Teja-starrer period action flick RRR and Chhello Show or Last Film Show have been shortlisted for the 95th Academy Awards. RRR's song Naatu Naatu has been shortlisted in the Best Original Song.

All That Breathes and The Elephant Whisperers are included in the shortlists of documentary features and documentary short segments.

According to the Academy's official website, Chhello Show will compete with films, including Argentina, 1985 (Argentina), Decision to Leave (South Korea), All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany), Close (Belgium) and The Blue Caftan (Morocco).

This is the third major international nomination for "Naatu Naatu", the popular Telugu song from SS Rajamouli's magnum opus RRR. The pan-India film follows a pre-independence fictional story woven around two real-life Indian revolutionaries - Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Jr NTR) - in the 1920s.

As part of the music (original song) Oscars shortlist, "Naatu Naatu" will face off with 14 other tracks, which include "Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)" from "Avatar: The Way of Water", "Lift Me Up" from "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever", Ciao Papa from Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, Hold My Hand from Top Gun: Maverick, and Carolina from Where the Crawdads Sing.

Shaunak Sen's celebrated film All That Breathes, an internationally co-produced Hindi title, is vying for a spot in the top five of the best documentary feature category.

"We made the shortlist, congos to all the other films!" wrote Sen on his Instagram Stories.

Other popular films that have been shortlisted for nomination

Fifteen international feature films from 92 countries were shortlisted including Close from Belgium, Decision to Leave from South Korea, All Quiet on the Western Front from Germany, Joyland from Pakistan, and Bardo from Mexico.

Here are the eligibility and voting criteria Academy Awards

To be eligible for contention, all films must complete a theatrical qualifying run between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, in designated US territories. This doesn't include the Best International Feature category.

According to the Academy's official website, "Voting for nominations and awards shall be by secret ballot. Ballots shall be made available by the Academy, and completed ballots shall be received and tabulated by a firm of certified public accountants designated by the Academy President."

The 95th Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled for March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, USA.