The film will represent the country in the Best International Feature Film category at the 2027 Oscars, scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 14, 2027. Written and directed by debutant filmmaker Santosh Davakhar, Gondhal was unanimously selected by an FFI jury panel chaired by National Award-winning filmmaker P. Seshadri after screening 33 submissions across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, and regional languages over a ten-day evaluation in Chennai.
The Story & Cinematic Craft: A Night of Ritual and Reckoning
Set against the rugged rural heartland of Maharashtra, Gondhal unfolds over a single, suffocating night centered around the sacred, centuries-old Gondhal ritual—a dramatic nocturnal folk-performance dedicated to Goddess Bhavani involving high-pitch singing, rhythmic cymbals, storytelling, and devotional fire:
The Narrative Dilemma: The plot tracks Suman (Ishita Deshmukh), a newly married woman bound to an unhappy union with Ananda (Yogesh Sohoni). When feudal tensions flare during a night-long ritual performance led by veteran Gondhali Bhivaba (Kishor Kadam), forbidden passions, class pride, and cold calculation spark a dangerous conspiracy that spirals into lethal violence before daybreak.
The 25-Minute Single Take: Beyond its thematic depth, Gondhal earned international festival acclaim for its technical audacity—most notably an unbroken, 25-minute continuous single take tracking the escalation from ceremonial trance to sudden murder, captured with natural lantern-light cinematography by Amalendu Chaudhary.
Ilaiyaraaja's Sonic Architecture: Legendary composer Ilaiyaraaja crafted the original score, juxtaposing authentic folk instruments and devotional chants with tense, atmospheric orchestral strings.
Inside the Selection Room: How 'Gondhal' Prevailed
FFI Selection Committee Chairman P. Seshadri addressed the press in Chennai to outline the jury's unanimous consensus:
“This year we received 33 submissions across languages—14 Hindi, four Marathi, alongside Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Northeast films. The competition was intense. There were many exceptional films we debated extensively; the Naga film 'Angh' and Sriram Raghavan’s 'Ikkis' were in the top-three shortlist. However, 'Gondhal' stood out for how seamlessly it marries an indigenous Indian folk tradition with universal psychological suspense and world-class technical ambition. It is a moment of immense pride for Marathi and Indian cinema.”
Director Santosh Davakhar, who previously clinched the Silver Peacock for Best Director at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) and the FIPRESCI Prize at BIFFES, expressed gratitude:
“We were confident while making and submitting the film, but to be picked by the jury to represent 1.4 billion people on the world stage is surreal. Gondhal is rooted in our soil, but its exploration of guilt, survival, and moral fragility is borderless.”
Trade & Campaign Outlook:
Securing the FFI nomination is only step one. As seen in previous international campaigns, breaking into the Academy's 15-film shortlist and securing an eventual nomination requires an aggressive, well-funded US screening and PR blitz targeting Academy voters across Los Angeles, New York, and London. With Davakhar Films and international sales agents preparing their festival rollout, Gondhal’s blend of visceral cultural heritage and technical virtuosity provides India with one of its most authentic contenders in recent years.
