Marathi film Gondhal has been chosen as India's entry for the 99th Academy Awards, defeating Ranveer Singh's box-office hit Dhurandhar. 

Published on: Sep 18, 2026, 20:47:49 IST

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The moment Marathi film Gondhal was announced as India’s official entry for the 99th Academy Awards, social media was abuzz, with many discussing how the film had beaten Ranveer Singh’s box-office juggernaut Dhurandhar to become India’s official Oscar entry. Now, one of the members of The Film Federation of India jury, Vivek Vaswani, has revealed why the film was not selected.

Why Dhurandhar wasn't India's official Oscar entry

Speaking to , Vivek was asked where Dhurandhar stood when the jury had to make the final decision and select one film from India. He responded, “Couple of people liked it but we didn't think that it was Oscar material.” Vivek also told the website that the Dhurandhar films did not represent Indian culture in the way the jury was looking for while deciding India's official submission.

When asked how many of the 14 jury members voted in favour of the film, Vivek responded, “Four.”

How was Gondhal selected?

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As per the report, Gondhal emerged from a field of 33 films, including 14 Hindi films, four Marathi films, four Telugu films, three Gujarati films, three Tamil films, one Malayalam film, one Nepali film and one film from Nagaland.

The jury's final three films were Gondhal, Angh and Maine Vaapas Aayunga, with the Marathi film eventually being selected as India's official entry for the 2027 Oscars.

About Gondhal

Gondhal, directed and written by Santosh Davakhar, is a thriller set against the backdrop of Maharashtra's traditional midnight ritual and folk-performance form from which it takes its name. The film's cultural setting and representation of Indian culture were among the factors that appealed to the jury.

The film has also made its mark on the international festival circuit, with Davakhar winning the Silver Peacock Award for Best Director at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in 2025.

The film stars Kishor Kadam, Ishita Deshmukh, Yogesh Sohoni, Nishad Bhoir and Anuj Prabhu. Its music has been composed by legendary composer Ilaiyaraaja.

About the Dhurandhar films

Ranveer Singh headlines the Dhurandhar franchise, directed by Aditya Dhar. The first film, Dhurandhar, released in December 2025 and was followed by Dhurandhar: The Revenge in March 2026. The two films became major box-office successes, with the franchise earning around ₹3,000 crore worldwide.

The franchise features Ranveer Singh in the lead, alongside an ensemble cast including Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, R. Madhavan, Sara Arjun and others.

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