'Chhello Show', 'All That Breathes', song from 'RRR' enter Oscars shortlist

New Delhi, December 22

India’s official entry to the upcoming Oscars ‘Chhello Show’, acclaimed documentary feature ‘All That Breathes’, documentary short ‘The Elephant Whisperers’, and ‘Naatu Naatu’ — the song from period action blockbuster ‘RRR’ have made it to the 95th Academy Awards shortlist, the organisers said on Thursday morning.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body behind the awards, announced the shortlists in 10 categories: documentary feature film, documentary short film, international feature film, makeup and hairstyling, music (original score), music (original song), animated short film, live action short film, sound, and visual effects.

Directed by Pan Nalin, ‘Chhello Show’ (titled ‘Last Film Show’ in English) is a Gujarati-language coming-of-age story of a young boy’s love affair with cinema in a village of Saurashtra.

Produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur and Dheer Momaya, the movie is part of the international feature film shortlist line-up.

The team of ‘Chhello Show’ said they are humbled and overjoyed that their heartfelt ode to the cinematic medium has been recognised by the Academy.

“Ever since our selection by the Film Federation of India as India’s Official Entry to the 95th Oscars, we knew in our hearts that the film was bound for something special.

“We would like to thank the FFI, the millions of people who watched and admired ‘Chhello Show’, as well as our international distributors who gave the film a well-deserved push. This is a historic moment for India and we hope to bring the Oscar home very soon,” Kapur, Momaya and Nalin said in a joint statement.