Anurag Kashyap slams India's Oscar selection process: 'Too much politics'
What's the story
Acclaimed filmmaker Anurag Kashyap spoke about India's chances at the Oscars, following the announcement that Santosh Davakhar's Gondhal will represent India in the Best Foreign Film category at the 2027 Academy Awards. To get a nomination, Gondhal will have to beat other contenders. Kashyap expressed his dissatisfaction with previous selections and emphasized that the most important qualification for eligibility is international exposure through festivals or American distribution.
Wrong selections
'We select absolutely wrong films'
On India missing out on winning in this category, Kashyap told Variety India, "Because we select absolutely wrong films. Even if we did have the chance to select the right ones like 'The Lunchbox' and 'All We Imagine As Light,' we messed it up."
He agreed with the interviewer that there is "too much politics in the selection process."
Kashyap added that this year, the competition is really tough and it's hard to beat international entries for the Oscars.
International exposure
First step for 'Gondhal' is to get festival screenings: Kashyap
Kashyap stressed that Gondhal should first try to get seen across festivals.
He said, "That has to be the first step or all the money spent on screenings or advertising is a waste."
He also suggested that the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) should submit its Regional IFFI winners for international festivals for exposure, as the Marathi movie had won Silver Peacock at IFFI Goa.
NFDC critique
NFDC should have a purpose, says Kashyap
Kashyap also criticized the NFDC for not having a clear purpose when they set up a market at every festival.
He said, "They should have a purpose to push the films that haven't premiered outside the country to actually apply for festivals and not just play at the market."
"Filmmakers are filmmakers first; they don't know much. But NFDC goes to every festival to set up a market without purpose."