Santosh Davakhar defends ‘Gondhal’ after Anurag Kashyap’s Oscars comments

‘Gondhal’ maker Santosh Davakhar has responded to Anurag Kashyap’s remarks on India’s Oscars selections, urging audiences to watch the film before passing judgment. Davakhar said the psychological thriller blends Marathi culture with global appeal and was made for theatres

Mumbai: Santosh Davakhar, maker of Gondhal, India’s official entry for the Oscars, has responded to filmmaker Anurag Kashyap’s remarks that India often selects the “wrong films” for major international awards, urging audiences to watch his film before passing a verdict.

On Wednesday, Davakhar recalled introducing Gondhal to Kashyap during a flight and said the filmmaker had assured him that he would watch it. However, Davakhar claimed that the film had neither been publicly screened nor made available in Mumbai since then.

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“I deeply respect Anurag Kashyap Sir and his filmmaking. On the Bengaluru-Mumbai flight on April 26 at 23:55, I introduced GONDHAL to him. He said he hadn’t heard of or watched it but would definitely do so. Since then, it has neither been publicly available nor screened in Mumbai,” he wrote on social media.

Davakhar urged audiences to watch the film before forming an opinion. He said the team understood the responsibility that came with representing India on an international platform such as the Oscars and would not let the country down.

“My humble request to all audiences, please watch the film before passing a verdict. Made by a debut filmmaker from outside the film fraternity, GONDHAL is a psychological thriller blending Marathi culture with global appeal. It is created for the big screen — not OTT. We understand the responsibility of representing India and will not let our country down. Please watch it in theatres upon its upcoming re-release and stand behind us as we face the world,” he added.

Kashyap had recently told a media platform that India often loses out at major award shows such as the Oscars because it ends up selecting the wrong films.

“Even if we did have the chance to select the right ones like The Lunchbox and All We Imagine As Light, we messed it up,” he said.

He added that one of the most important eligibility criteria should be that a film had travelled to an international festival outside India or secured American distribution.

“Gondhal should first try to get seen across festivals,” Kashyap said.