Visaranai was on Thursday, September 22, selected as India's official entry to the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2017 Academy Awards. The Film Federation of India's jury, headed by filmmaker Ketan Mehta, picked up Vetrimaaran's film from among 29 movies.
Kannada movie Thithi, Sonam Kapoor's Neerja, Aswin Iyer Tiwary's Nil Battey Sannata, Shahid Kapoor's Udta Punjab and Marathi film Sairaat were said to be the other strong contenders, which lost the race to Visaranai.
Visaranai is not a regular commercial movie but a film that shows harsh realities of life. The movie narrates the story of M Chandrakumar, a Coimbatore-based author and autorickshaw driver, who shares his experience after he and three of his friends are arrested on false charges.
The four innocent labourers are forced through physical and mental torture to confess to a high-profile robbery in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. The reluctant boys remain strong despite undergoing third-grade treatment by the police. When they escape from the case, they land up in a major trap laid by the Tamil Nadu police. The remaining part of the film highlights how injustice is meted out to them.
Visaranai received praises from superstar Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. It also won appreciation at various international film festivals. The Tamil movie won the prestigious National Award in categories like the Best Feature Film in Tamil, Best Supporting Actor (Samuthirakani) and Best Editing (Kishore Te).
Meanwhile, Dhanush, who has produced the film, has thanked the jury for selecting his film to the Oscars. In a press release, he said, "My sincere thanks to all those who believed in me and my production house. I would like to thank the fantastic cast of Visaranaai."
Dhanush also thanked the executive producer, S Vinod, press and his well-wishers.
List of Tamil movies, which have been sent to the Oscars
Anjali
Deiva Magan
Hey Ram
Indian
Kuruthipunal
Nayagan
Devar Magan
Jeans
