When Pan Nalin’s Chhello Show was revealed as India’s official entry for the Oscars 2023, many were taken aback and SS Rajamouli was apparently among them. His movie RRR had generated a fan base in the US at the time and there was a strong possibility that the Film Federation of India would select the film as India’s representative for an Academy Award.
Also Read: James Cameron’s unexpected response to SS Rajamouli’s RRR
However, the committee went with the lesser known Gujarati film Chhello Show (The Last Film Show). Rajamouli recently shared his feeling of being “disappointed” when they were not chosen.
He expressed his disappointment to The Hollywood Reporter, but stated that they should move on with their lives instead of dwelling on why the situation did not turn out as planned.
Source: Google, SS Rajamouli
The filmmaker expressed his joy over Chhello Show being nominated for the Oscars, as it is an Indian film. He stated, “I’m quite happy for it.” However, he also noted that “everyone knew” that RRR had a larger possibility of clinching the award. He refrained from commenting on the reasons why his own motion picture was not picked by the Film Federation of India.
He stated that it was obvious that RRR had a larger likelihood of success, and that most people in the US believed so as well. He then went on to say that he had no idea of the criteria that the Film Federation of India used to make their decisions, so he could not comment on it.
Source: Google, SS Rajamouli
TP Aggarwal, the President of the Film Federation of India, had previously informed that the jury had unanimously chosen Chhello Show to be sent for the Oscars. He went on to say that out of the 17 contenders, all agreed that this was the film to send. He then addressed the possibility of The Kashmir Files or RRR being nominated, clarifying that the jury wanted Chhello Show and there was no other film in the running. Naatu Naatu from RRR was, however, shortlisted for the Best Original Song category. On January 24th, the final nominations for the Academy Awards will be revealed.