93rd Academy Awards: Malayalam movie 'Jallikattu' is India's official entry for Oscars 2021

Mumbai: Released in Kerala in October 2019, Jallikattu is India's official entry for Oscars 2021.

The Malayalam film directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery has been selected as India's entry for the International Feature Film category at the Oscars.

The film starring Antony Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sabumon Abdusamad and Santhy Balachandran, follows the plot of a bull that runs amok from a slaughterhouse in a hilly remote village with all the residents gathering to hunt down the animal.

Jallikattu was premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received much acclaim.

Pellisery had received the Best Director award for Jallikattu at the 50th International Film Festival of India.

Jallikattu is the second Malayalam film to be submitted as the country's entry to the Oscars after Adaminte Makan Abu in 2011.

Only three Indian films have made it to the final list of Oscar nominations- Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay! (1988), and Lagaan (2008).

Other films in consideration included The Disciple, Shikara, Chhapaak, Bhonsle, Chhalaang, Kaamyaab, Chintu Ka Birthday, Bittersweet, Gulabo Sitabo, Bulbbul, The Sky is Pink, Serious Men, and Gunjan Saxena among others.

The movie is based on the short story of Maoist by Hareesh.

"It is a film that really brings out the raw problems which are there in human beings, that is we are worse than animals," said filmmaker Rahul Rawail, Chairman, Jury Board, Film Federation of India.

Jallikattu was chosen by the Film Federation of India from 27 entries that included Hindi, Odiya, Marathi and other language movies.

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