DGA nominations: RRR director SS Rajamouli fails to make the cut at critical Oscar predictor

The absence of RRR director SS Rajamouli from the top nominees doesn’t bode well for his chances of scoring a historic nomination at the Academy Awards. But it’s important to note that voting still hasn’t concluded for the Oscars. Nominations will be announced later this month, on January 24. Also shut out of the top category were Avatar: The Way of Water’s James Cameron, Decision to Leave director Park Chan-wook, and The Woman King’s Gina Prince-Bythewood.

“The work recognized this year represents the amazing power of film in the hands of these gifted directors to tell deeply moving stories that profoundly affect us all,” DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter said in a statement. “The recognition by one’s peers in our highly collaborative creative process shows the heart and soul at the core of these films and we congratulate all five nominees for their powerful stories, brilliantly told.”

RRR became a runaway hit in the United States after a so-so theatrical run, when its Hindi version was released on Netflix. Through word of mouth, it attracted a major fanbase, which has since snowballed into a full-blown awards campaign. The film recently won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, and Rajamouli won the Best Director award at the New York Film Critics Circle honours. After advancing in just one category when the Academy announced its shortlists recently, all hopes were pinned on the film scoring either a Best Director or Best Picture nod (or both).

Incidentally, no women were nominated by the DGA in the Feature Film category this year, after the body awarded Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog merely 12 months ago. But it made up for this by nominating five women — Alice Diop (Saint Omer), Audrey Diwan (Happening), Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic (Murina) and Charlotte Wells (Aftersun) — in the First-Time Feature Film category.

The 75th Annual DGA Awards, which will take place on Feb. 18 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

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