Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar may have emerged as one of the biggest commercial successes of Indian cinema, but its box-office performance was not enough to secure India’s official entry to the 2027 Oscars. The Film Federation of India selected Santosh Davakhar’s Marathi thriller Gondhal from 33 submissions for the Best International Feature Film category. Now, jury member Vivek Vaswani has shed light on the decision, revealing that Dhurandhar received just four votes from the 14-member jury.
Why Was Dhurandhar Not Selected For Oscars 2027?
Speaking to NDTV, Vaswani was asked how Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar: The Revenge were viewed during the selection process. “Couple of people liked it but we didn’t think that it was Oscar material,” he said. Vaswani added that the jury did not feel the films represented Indian culture in the way it was looking for in the country’s official Oscar submission. The comments offer the clearest explanation so far for why a franchise that dominated the box office could not make it to the final selection.
The jury’s final three films were Gondhalthe Dragon film Angh and Imtiaz Ali’s Maine Vaapas Aayungawith Gondhal eventually being selected.
Dhurandhar Got Four Votes From 14-Member Jury
The 14-member jury was headed by filmmaker P Sheshadri and included names such as Vijay Patkar, Vivek Vaswani, Tannishtha Chatterjee and others. When asked specifically how many jury members voted for DhurandharVaswani said four. The result underlines the difference between a film’s commercial success and the criteria involved in choosing a country’s official Oscar submission. Dhurandhar and its sequel were major box-office successes, but the jury’s decision was based on how the films worked as India’s representative in the international feature category.
How Did Gondhal Beat 32 Other Films?
Gondhal was selected from a diverse field of 33 filmsincluding 14 Hindi films, four Marathi films, four Telugu films, four Gujarati films, three Tamil films, one Malayalam film, one Nepali film and one film from Nagaland.
Directed and written by Santosh Davakhar, Gondhal is set in rural Maharashtra and uses the traditional Gondhal folk-performance form as an important part of its story. The thriller stars Ishita Deshmukh, Kishor Kadam, Yogesh Sohoni, Nishad Bhoir, Anuj Prabhu and others.
Davakhar’s film also entered the Oscar race with festival recognition behind it. He won the Silver Peacock for Best Director at IFFI 2025while Gondhal has also received recognition at film festivals in Bengaluru and Pune.
Dhurandhar Franchise Crossed Rs 3,000 Crore
The jury’s decision comes despite the extraordinary commercial run of the Dhurandhar franchise. The first film, directed by Aditya Dharreleased in December 2025, followed by Dhurandhar: The Revenge in March 2026. Together, the two films have reportedly crossed the Rs 3,000 crore mark worldwidewith the franchise becoming one of the biggest commercial successes in Indian cinema.
However, commercial numbers alone do not determine India’s official Oscar submission. The jury’s choice this year was Gondhalwhich will now represent India at the 99th Academy Awardsscheduled for March 14, 2027, in Los Angeles.
Shiwani works as a Senior Sub Editor at NewsX, covering the entertainment beat. With a strong background in media, she is a true cinema buff who loves keeping up with the latest in pop culture and lifestyle trends. After earning her Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, Shiwani followed her passion and pursued a Master’s in Journalism from IIMC, choosing the road less travelled.
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