Gujarati film “Chhello Show” is India’s official entry for Oscars 2023: Film Federation of India

The Gujarati film Chhello Show, known as Last Film Show in English, is India’s official entry for the 95th Oscars, according to an announcement made by a jury from the Film Federation of India.

“Chhello Show is set at the cusp of the digital revolution and follows a nine-year-old boy ensnared by the magic and science of light and shadow that lies behind celluloid film projection,” a press release from the 17-member jury stated. 

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Chhello Show was chosen from a total of 13 of different languages of which six were Hindi, one each in Tamil, Telegu, Bengali and Gujarati as well as a few other, FFI president TP Aggarwal told news wire PTI. 

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The film has been directed by Pan Nalin and features Richa Meena, Vikas Bata, Bhavin Rabri, Rahul Koli, Bhavesh Shrimali and Dipen Raval in starring roles. 

The film is a coming-of-age drama that focuses on a nine-year-old boy who falls in love with cinema after bribing the cinema projector technician. Over the course of summer the more movies he watches, the more he is drawn to the art of filmmaking and cinema. 

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“OMG! What a night this going to be! Gratitude to Film Federation of India and thank you FFI jury members. Thank you for believing in Chhello Show. Now I can breathe again and believe in cinema that entertains, inspires and enlightens,” wrote Nalin Pan on Twitter when the FFI announced the Oscars selection.

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Social media on the other hand, was not too pleased to hear the news, especially considering many hoped that either the Junior NTR and Ram Charan-starrer, RRR or the contentious The Kashmir Files would be sent as India’s oscar nomination. 

RRR in particular was a fan favourite, given its popularity in the West. After all, the international film magazine Variety listed the south Indian film on its potential Oscar winner list.