Tamil film ‘Koozhangal’ is India’s official entry to the Oscars 2022

Debutant director PS Vinothraj’s Tamil film Koozhangal (Pebbles) has been announced as India’s official entry to the Oscars 2022.

If selected, the film will compete for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film next year. Danish film Another Round, directed by Thomas Vinterberg, won the honour in 2021.

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Shaji N Karun, the chairperson of the 15-member selection committee, set up by the Film Federation of India, made the announcement. The 94th Academy Awards will be held on March 27, 2022, in Los Angeles.

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Presented by Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan’s Rowdy Pictures, Koozhangal is about the journey of an alcoholic father Ganapathy and his son Velu who are on their way to bring back their wife-mother, who has left the home. Through their eyes, we get an unflinching look at life in a drought-hit village in Madurai.

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Vignesh Shivan took to Twitter to share and celebrate the news, posting, “There’s a chance to hear this! And the Oscars goes to…. Two steps away from a dream come true moment in our lives. #Pebbles #Nayanthara @PsVinothraj @thisisysr @AmudhavanKar @Rowdy_Pictures Can’t be prouder, happier & content.”

Earlier this year, Koozhangal also won the prestigious Tiger Award, the top honour at the 50th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2021.

The other films in consideration to be India’s official Oscars 2022 entry included Amit Masurkar’s Sherni and Shoojit Sircar’s biopic Sardar Udham.

India’s submissions to the Oscars in recent years include Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Jallikattu and Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy.

No Indian film has ever won an Oscar thus far. The last Indian film that made it to the final list of nominations in the Best International Feature category was Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan in 2001. Mother India (1958) and Salaam Bombay (1989) are the other Indian films to have made it to the final nominations.