India's Oscar Entry Gondhal Opens Pan-India as Director Santosh Davakhar Says He Is 'Betting On' Ramayana at the Oscars

Gondhal, the Marathi folk thriller selected as India's official entry for the 99th Academy Awards, opened across India on Nov. 13 in six languages, and director Santosh Davakhar told SCREEN he is betting on Ramayana to compete at the Oscars through general entry, The Indian Express reported.

Nov 14, 2026 - 10:15

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Gondhal, the Marathi folk thriller chosen as India's official entry for the 99th Academy Awards, opened in theatres across India on Nov. 13, and its director, Santosh Davakhar, has said he expects Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana to make its own run at the Oscars through the Academy's general categories, The Indian Express reported on Nov. 14.

Speaking to SCREEN alongside cast members Ishita Deshmukh, Yogesh Sohoni and Nishad Bhoir, Davakhar described the film's position as a source of both pride and pressure. "It's a great feeling to represent our country at the Oscars," he said, adding that the team was "working hard, preparing for the screenings" and that "the pressure, the anxiety is justified," according to The Indian Express.

A Six-Language Release After the Oscar Pick

The Film Federation of India (FFI) announced Gondhal as the country's submission in the Best International Feature Film category on Sept. 18, 2026, Hindustan Times reported. Following that announcement, the makers locked a nationwide release for Nov. 13 in Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, according to The Hollywood Reporter India and Cinema Express, with the non-Marathi versions released as dubs.

The Hindu reported that the makers unveiled a global trailer ahead of what it described as a theatrical re-release in seven languages across India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, Dubai and Africa. The film had already been released in theatres in late 2025; India Today reported that its first theatrical run was modest, with trade reports describing the performance as subdued.

Written, directed and produced by Davakhar under the Davakhar Films banner, Gondhal is set in rural Maharashtra against the backdrop of the Gondhal, a traditional night-long folk performance of music, dance and mythology. According to The Hollywood Reporter India, the story follows Suman, a young woman in an unhappy marriage who exploits her lover Sarjerao's obsession with the ritual as an overnight performance unfolds. The cast includes Kishor Kadam, Ishita Deshmukh, Yogesh Sohoni, Nishad Bhoir and Anuj Prabhu, India Today reported. The Hollywood Reporter India said the music is by Ilaiyaraaja and the cinematography by Amalendu Chaudhary.

In a statement reported by Hindustan Times, Davakhar said the team's "only goal was to stay fiercely true to the raw culture, haunting rhythms, and untold layers of our soil," and that releasing it nationwide "feels like bringing the story back full circle."

'I Am Betting On It': Davakhar on Ramayana

In the SCREEN interview, Davakhar said that Ramayana: Part 1, directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra, is also contesting for the Oscars through general entry. "There are few more films like, Ramayana, among others, they are also contesting in other categories but it is from general entry for Best Film, Best Actor, Best VFX, and I think we have a very good VFX film this year, and Ramayana could do something different at the Oscars under this category. I am betting on it," he said, as quoted by The Indian Express.

The comments come as Ramayana continues its theatrical run. The Hindu reported on Nov. 14 that the film, which released on Nov. 5, had grossed Rs 1,033.55 crore worldwide in eight days according to trade website Sacnilk, making it the 11th Indian film to cross the Rs 1,000 crore mark.

The Dhurandhar Question

Gondhal was chosen from 33 films in contention, a list that included Border 2, Ikkis, Angh, Hanuman Ansh and the Dhurandhar film series, India Today reported. The 14-member selection committee was headed by filmmaker P Sheshadri. Jury member Firdausul Hasan told India Today that the decision was unanimous and that the film "nicely depicts the Indian culture, the photography and music are extraordinary." India Today also cited sources saying Ikkis and Angh were among the jury's top three.

According to The Indian Express, FFI jury member and actor-producer Vivek Vaswani previously told NDTV that four of the 14 members voted for Dhurandhar, while the majority did not consider it Oscar material. Asked about being chosen over that film, Davakhar praised Aditya Dhar's screenplay but said, "you have to decide whether you want to hit the box office numbers or want to represent a film at the international level," adding that Dhurandhar "has an Indian filmmaking approach."

Davakhar told SCREEN that Gondhal, made for approximately Rs 4.5 crore, was the lowest-budgeted film among the contenders, and he cited earlier FFI selections such as Court, Laapata Ladies, Jallikattu and Homebound as examples of the jury's approach.

What Comes Next

Gondhal is the fourth Marathi film submitted for the Oscars in the international category, after Shwaas (2005), Harishchandrachi Factory (2009) and Court (2015), according to The Hindu. The film premiered at the International Film Festival of India in Goa, where it won a Silver Peacock special jury recognition, India Today reported.

Selection by the FFI is only the first step. The Academy will narrow international submissions to a 15-film shortlist before choosing five nominees, and the 99th Academy Awards are scheduled for March 14, 2027, according to India Today.