When the news of India selecting Pan Nalin’s “Last Film Show” (“Chhello Show”) to represent the country in the best international feature category at the upcoming 95th Academy Awards started doing rounds on the social media, many were concerened that it's a lost chance for the country for snubbing Telugu-language blockbuster "RRR"
Earlier the U.S. distributor for the film has opted to launch a full awards campaign for the action drama and is calling on the 10,000 Academy members to consider voting for the film in all categories, reports Yahoo entertainment and now the makers have laucnged the Oscar Campaign of the film.
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Directed by S.S. Rajamouli, undeniably one of the greatest living directors currently working, "RRR" is a spectacular epic that sees two legendary anti-imperialist revolutionaries joining forces to deliver a bromance action story for the ages.
If "RRR" can pull off the Best Picture win, it will become only the second-ever non-English language film to take home the prize, after Bong Joon-ho's 2020 win with "Parasite." The film was crafted on a budget of ₹550 crore ($72 million), making it the most expensive Indian film to date. Fortunately, "RRR" kicks every flavor of ass so hard, it's already made back its budget and more. The Best International Feature category seemed like a safe bet to bring home an Oscar, but in true "RRR" fashion, Rajamouli isn't playing it safe.
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“Over the last six months, we have seen the joy that S.S. Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’ has brought to global audiences,” the president of Variance Films, Dylan Marchetti, stated in the past.
“We have seen the film gross over $140 million worldwide to become one of India’s highest grossing films of all time and become the first film in history to trend globally on Netflix for over 14 weeks. We have seen the film fill up theaters with cheering audiences months after its initial release, including the historic TCL Chinese IMAX theater in Hollywood, where it will play next Friday to an audience that sold out of one of the largest theaters in the country in just 15 minutes. Most importantly, we have heard fans from around the world tell us that they believe this is one of the best films of the year from any nation. We agree. We proudly invite the Academy to consider ‘RRR’ in all categories," he added.
The three-hour action epic follows two patriotic but philosophically opposed men (Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr.), who team up to rescue a girl from British colonial officials in 1920s Delhi. The film, distributed by Variance Films in the U.S., has been one of the most popular titles of the year, becoming a trending topic on social media over the past few months.
With Rs. 240 crores (US $30 million) worldwide on its first day, “RRR” broke the record for the biggest opening day collectively earned by an Indian film.
In Oscar history, only three Indian films have been nominated for best international feature — ”Mother India” (1957), “Salaam Bombay!” (1988) and “Lagaan” (2001), and none have won.
