Three films and one song from India have made it to the 95th Academy Awards shortlist, the precursor to the final nominations that are a month away. With other categories yet to be announced, here’s a rundown of what has been selected so far: ALL THAT BREATHES - DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shaunak Sen (@shaunak_sen) Winner of the Best Documentary honour at the Sundance Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival, this Shaunak Sen directorial has perched another feather in its cap and soared a few inches closer to an Oscars nomination. "We're besides ourselves with joy and relief," said Sen to The Indian Express. "Not least because this shines more light on the singularly remarkable work our characters do, but also owing to the lovely films we are in the company of. We're genuinely thrilled with the recognition, and looking forward to the next steps in the film's journey." "We're exhilarated about India's stunning performance at the shortlist level, four (shortlisted films) is incredible," he added. A story about two Muslim brothers in New Delhi who rescue black kites falling from a smog-choked sky, All That Breathes explores the significance of this bird in the lives of these two former bodybuilders against the backdrop of the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots. ELEPHANT WHISPERERS - DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sony | Alpha (India) (@sonyalphain) An unusually large family - not in number, but in the size of its members - is at the centre of this narrative. Following the lives of an aging couple of the Kattunayakan tribe in South India who become parents to two orphan baby elephants, this 41-minute documentary directed by Kartiki Gonsalves is a half-a-decade-long journalistic endeavour that explores a love transcending boundaries of blood, community, and species. CHHELLO SHOW (TRANSLATION: LAST FILM SHOW) - INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM A heartwarming love letter to films and filmmaking, this Gujarati-language feature directed by Pan Nalin follows the story of Samay, a nine-year-old boy in a village in Gujarat, who bribes a theatre projectionist to watch movies all summer. Smitten by the craft and deciding to pursue it as a vocation, the boy navigates a life of hardship, creation, sacrifice and a selfless love of artistry. The film premiered at the 20th Tribeca Film Festival in 2021 and released in India this year. NAATU NAATU (FROM RRR) - MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG) This rip-roaring musical number from SS Rajamouli’s 2022 historical epic RRR has made its way to the West, on the back of its unexpected critical and commercial success overseas. Naatu Naatu has been written by Chandrabose and sung by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, and features the film’s protagonists, essayed by NTR Jr and Ram Charan, in an iconic dance-off against Britons, and shot in front of the palatial residence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
