‘Gondhal’ maker Santosh Davakhar responds to Anurag Kashyap’s Oscars remark, urging audiences to watch India’s official Oscar entry before passing judgment and highlighting its upcoming theatrical re-release and international ambitions.
Santosh Davakhar, the filmmaker behind Gondhal, has responded to Anurag Kashyap’s recent remarks about India’s selection of films for the Oscars, urging audiences and critics to watch a movie before forming an opinion about it. Gondhal has been selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars.
Davakhar addressed Kashyap’s comments on Wednesday and recalled his earlier interaction with the filmmaker during a flight from Bengaluru to Mumbai. According to Davakhar, he introduced Gondhal to Kashyap during the journey and informed him about the film. He said Kashyap told him that he had neither heard of nor watched the movie but assured him that he would definitely see it.
In a social media post, Davakhar said that despite the conversation, Gondhal has not been publicly screened in Mumbai and is currently not available there for audiences to watch. He expressed his respect for Kashyap and his filmmaking while responding to the latter’s comments about India’s Oscar selections.
“I deeply respect Anurag Kashyap Sir and his filmmaking,” Davakhar said, recalling the meeting on a Bengaluru-Mumbai flight on April 26. He added that Kashyap had said he would watch the film, but claimed that it had neither been publicly available nor screened in Mumbai since then.
Davakhar also made a direct appeal to audiences, asking them to watch Gondhal before passing a verdict on the film. He described the project as a psychological thriller that blends elements of Marathi culture with a broader international appeal.
According to the filmmaker, Gondhal has been created primarily for the big screen rather than for an OTT release. He also highlighted that the movie comes from a debut filmmaker who is not from the established film fraternity.
Davakhar said the team understands the responsibility associated with representing India on an international platform such as the Academy Awards. He expressed confidence that the makers would fulfil that responsibility and would not let the country down.
He further urged audiences to support the film when it returns to theatres in an upcoming re-release. His appeal comes amid a wider discussion surrounding the criteria and process through which Indian films are selected for international awards.
Kashyap recently expressed criticism over India’s record at major international award ceremonies, including the Oscars. Speaking to a media platform, the filmmaker said India often misses opportunities because it selects what he described as the “wrong films” for major awards.
Kashyap cited films such as The Lunchbox and All We Imagine As Light as examples of movies that, in his view, could have represented India more effectively but were not selected. He also discussed what he believes should be important eligibility considerations for films seeking international recognition.
According to Kashyap, a film should ideally have participated in an international film festival outside India or secured American distribution. While discussing Gondhal, he advised that the film should first seek wider exposure through international film festivals.
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Davakhar’s response, meanwhile, centres on the importance of audiences seeing the film before evaluating its merits. With Gondhal set for an upcoming theatrical re-release, the filmmaker has positioned the film’s return to cinemas as an opportunity for viewers to experience the movie and assess it independently.
The exchange between the two filmmakers has added to the ongoing conversation around India’s Oscar entry, international festival exposure and the challenges faced by Indian films seeking recognition on the global stage.
