Marathi thriller ‘Gondhal’ has been named India’s official entry for the 99th Academy Awards, but the selection has triggered fresh conversation around Ranveer Singh‘s ‘Dhurandhar’, which was also among the films considered. Vivek Vaswani, a member of the Film Federation of India (FFI) jury responsible for picking India’s Oscar submission, has now shed light on exactly how ‘Dhurandhar’ performed during voting, revealing it secured just four votes out of the 14-member panel.
Why ‘Dhurandhar’ fell short
In conversation with NDTV, Vivek Vaswani was asked to comment on where ‘Dhurandhar’ stood during the jury’s deliberations. He said, “Couple of people liked it, but we didn’t think that it was Oscar material.”He went on to explain that the panel was specifically searching for a film capable of representing Indian culture in a distinct, meaningful way and felt the ‘Dhurandhar’ franchise fell short of that benchmark.When pressed on the exact vote count in favour of the film, Vivek simply replied, “Four.”
How ‘Gondhal’ made the cut
‘Gondhal’ emerged victorious from a pool of 33 films submitted for consideration, spanning languages including Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Gujarati, Tamil and Malayalam. The jury eventually narrowed its shortlist to three finalists, ‘Gondhal’, ‘Angh’ and ‘Maine Vaapas Aaunga’, before the Marathi thriller was chosen as India’s official pick.Written and directed by Santosh Davakhar, the film draws on Maharashtra’s traditional ‘Gondhal’ ritual, a folk art form combining music, dance and mythology, a cultural backdrop that reportedly resonated strongly with the jury.The film has already earned acclaim on the festival front, with Davakhar bagging the Silver Peacock Award for Best Director at the 56th International Film Festival of India in 2025. Its cast includes Kishor Kadam, Ishita Deshmukh, Yogesh Sohoni, Nishad Bhoir and Anuj Prabhu, with music scored by Ilaiyaraaja.
About the ‘Dhurandhar’ franchise
Ranveer Singh headlines the ‘Dhurandhar’ series, directed by Aditya Dhar. The franchise kicked off with its first film in December 2025, followed by ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ in March 2026. The ensemble cast also features Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan and Sara Arjun.‘Gondhal’ will now compete for India in the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards, set to take place on March 14, 2027.
