India’s Oscars 2027 entry: Marathi thriller 'Gondhal' selected from 33 films

Marathi thriller ‘Gondhal’, written and directed by Santosh Davakhar, has been selected as India’s official entry for the 99th Academy Awards, the Film Federation of India (FFI) announced on Friday, September 18. The film will represent India in the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars 2027.

The film was selected from 33 submissions across multiple Indian languages. According to FFI selection committee chairman P Seshadri, the jury watched all 33 films over 10 days before arriving at its final decision.

“This year we've had four Marathi films, 14 Hindi films, and other films; all the films were good. It's a happy moment for Indian cinema, for Marathi cinema. This time the official entry is ‘Gondhal’,” Seshadri said at a press conference.

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He also revealed that ‘Angh’ and ‘Ikkis’ were among the other films in the final consideration.

“We've watched 33 films in last ten days of different languages. There were many other good films that we were debating about. ‘Angh’ and ‘Ikkis’ were in top three list apart from ‘Gondhal’,” Seshadri said.

Story of Gondhal

Set in rural Maharashtra, the film unfolds against the backdrop of the traditional Gondhal ritual, a night-long folk performance involving music, dance, mythology and religious traditions. The story follows Suman, a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage, whose relationship with a forbidden lover draws her into a dangerous plan involving her husband.

The thriller stars Ishita Deshmukh, Kishor Kadam, Yogesh Sohoni, Nishad Bhoir and Anuj Prabhu in key roles. Veteran composer Ilaiyaraaja has scored the music for the film.

‘Gondhal’ marks Davakhar's feature-film debut. The film premiered at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa in 2025, where Davakhar won the Silver Peacock for Best Director. It also later received the FIPRESCI Award at the 17th Bengaluru International Film Festival.

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Fourth Marathi film to represent India

With ‘Gondhal’, Marathi cinema has now had four films selected as India's official Oscar entry. The earlier films were ‘Shwaas’ (2005), ‘Harishchandrachi Factory’ (2009) and ‘Court’ (2015).

India has yet to win the Best International Feature Film category. Indian films ‘Mother India’, ‘Salaam Bombay’ and ‘Lagaan’ have previously received nominations in the category, while ‘Water’, represented by Canada, was also nominated.

The selection of ‘Gondhal’ is India's submission, but the film must still go through the Academy's selection process. The 99th Academy Awards are scheduled for March 14, 2027, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.