New Delhi .After Marathi film Gondhal was selected as India's official entry at the 99th Oscar Awards, the discussion about it has intensified. After Anurag Kashyap's comment on the selection of the film, now Gondhal director Santosh Dawkhare has given his reaction. He said that it is important to watch any film before passing judgment on it.
Santosh Dawkhar told that he had talked to Anurag Kashyap about Gondhal during the plane journey. During that time he gave information about the film and requested to watch it. According to Dawkhar, Anurag Kashyap had talked about watching the film. However, the director claims that the film has not been shown to him yet and is not even available in Mumbai.
While giving his views about the film, the director of Gondhal said that he wants to request everyone to watch the film before making any kind of decision or opinion. He said that as a filmmaker, he understands the responsibility that his film has to represent India on the international stage.
Santosh Dawkhar said that he has made his debut as a filmmaker and Gondhal is a psychological thriller film. The film incorporates Marathi culture and has been made keeping in mind a wide audience. According to him, the film has been made for the big screen and not for the OTT platform.
He has also appealed to the audience to watch the film in theatre. Dawkhar said that when the film will be released in theaters again, the audience should form their own opinion after watching it. He also said that he takes the responsibility of representing the country at the international level seriously and does not want to disappoint his country.
In fact, Anurag Kashyap had recently raised questions about the selection of Indian films in international awards. He had said that India lags behind in many big awards because sometimes films are not selected properly. He also gave examples of films like The Lunchbox and All We Imagine as Light.
Anurag Kashyap also spoke about the process of the film reaching the international level. According to him, before selecting a film for the Oscars, it should be important to take it to international film festivals outside India and look at the possibilities of US distribution. In the context of Gondhal, he had earlier talked about the film's presence in international film festivals.
Gondhal is a Marathi language drama thriller film released in the year 2025. The film has been written and directed by Santosh Davkhar. It has now been selected as India's official entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Oscar Awards.