Saturday (September 21): India has declared ‘Gully Boy’ as official entry for the 92nd Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category.
Inspired by the lives of Indian street rappers Divine and Naezy, the film is a coming-of-age story about an aspiring street rapper from the Dharavi slums of Mumbai.
Gully Boy, directed by Zoya Akhtar, is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film. It is written by Akhtar and Reema Kagti.
The movie stars Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in leading role, and features Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Vijay Raaz in supporting roles.
The film is produced by Ritesh Sidhwani, Zoya Akhtar and Farhan Akhtar under the banners of Tiger Baby and Excel Entertainment productions.
The other films in contention were Anandi Gopal, AndhDhun, And The Oscar Goes To, Article 15, Baba, Badhaai Ho, Badla, Bandishala, Bulbul Can Sing, Dear Comrade, Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Jaa Riya Hoon, Gully Boy, Hellaro, Kesari, Konttho, Kurukshetra, Mai Ghat: Crime No 103/2005, Nagarkirtan, Olu, Oththa Seruppu Size 7, Pahuna, Super Deluxe, The Tashkent Files, Uri: The Surgical Strike, Uyare and Vada Chennai.
Last year, Village Rockstars was India’s official entry to the 91st Academy Awards. The film was shot using a hand-held camera within a shoe-string budget.
So far, only three films from India have made it till the last round and were nominated in the foreign language film category at the Oscars, those are – Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957), Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay! (1988), and Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan (2001).
The 92nd Academy Awards will take place on February 9, 2020 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, US.
