‘Chhello Show’ Movie: Interesting Facts About India’s Official Entry To Oscars 2023

Oscars are considered the most prestigious award for any movie and the makers and it is kind of a dream of any director or people in filmmaking to win Oscars at least once in their lives. Originally, known as the Academy Awards and popularly known as Oscars, the awards started in May 1929, with the first award show held at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, United States (US). Oscars are given for Excellence in the American and International film industry. 

The Oscars are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the apex body hosts the award show annually. The 'Best International Feature Film' category was started in 1957, earlier known as the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category. Countries send their entries for this category, by sending their best movies for nominations in the category.

Leaving popular movies like SS Rajamouli’s RRR and Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files, the Gujarati film Chhello Show directed by Pan Nalin made its way to India’s official entry to Oscar Awards 2023 in the Best International Feature Film category with a unanimous vote of the Film Federation of India’s (FFI) jury. 

The Gujarati movie being selected for the Oscars is shocking for many people who thought that RRR and The Kashmir File will make it for prestigious awards for movies. However, reportedly jury was not divided on Chhello Show and both the movies did not stand anywhere in front of the Gujarati movie.

Tough Competitor ‘Chhello Show’:

Literally translated as the ‘Last Film Show’, Chhello Show has worthwhile reasons for being India’s entry for the Oscars. Although, it is a surprise for the majority of audiences. The movie has the potential to take anyone into their childhood and re-live their curiosity. The Chhello Show is a reminder of childhood that sneaks into the memories through a young boy (Samay) who hails from Chalala village in Saurashtra (a region in the Indian state Gujarat).

Star Cast Chhello Show:

• Bhavin Rabari (Samay)
• Bhavesh Shrimali (Fazal, projectionist)
• Richa Meena (Baa, Samay’s mother)
• Dipen Raval (Bapuji, Samay’s father)
• Paresh Mehta (cinema manager)
• Vikas Bata (Nano)
• Rahul Koli (Manu)
• Shoban Makwa (Badshah)
• Kishan Parmar (ST)
• Vijay Mer (Tiku)
• Alpesh Tank (Mr. Dave, teacher)
• Tia Sebastien (Leela Mila)

Just like anyone would do in their childhood, dream of living their passion. The story is based on a child's life passion for watching that later on turns into one of the parts of life. Samay (the young boy) bribes the cinema projector technician in order to watch movies during summer and he gets attached to the cinema for life. Released on 10 June 2021, the movie is directed and written by Pan Nalin and it is co-produced by Pan Nalin, Dheer Momaya, and Marc Duale under the banner of Roy Kapur Films, Jugaad Motion Pictures, Monsoon Films, and Chhello Show LLP.

Despite the tough competition, the movie was able to beat popular films like Kashmir Files and RRR due to the cinematography and storytelling, and the most important part was that the movie was directed by Pan Nalin who is known for his visually striking direction in films. His other notable movies include – Samsara, Valley of Flowers, and Angry Indian Goddesses.

Parameters of Oscar Entry for International Movies:

The apex body of the Indian film producers, distributors, exhibitors, and studio owners, the Film Federation of India (FFI) starts the process of selecting their entry for the Oscars by appointing a committee. The committee is tasked to select one movie from those released in the year and send it for Oscar nominations.

Although, till now, no Indian movie has won Oscar. However, the movie that made it to the final five of the award ceremony was Amir Khan starrer Lagaan. Released in 2001, Lagaan was directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. It was the last movie so far to make it to the final and before that Mother India released in 1957 and Salaam Bombay released in 1989 had made their way to the final five in the prestigious award ceremony.

By last year, India has sent over 54 movies for the competition. Also, Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray holds the record of representing India in the competition over three times. Ray is followed by Kamal Haasan and Raghubir Yadav for being a part of seven submissions as performers or actors. 

Interesting Facts Related to Chhello Show:

Here are some noticeable facts about India’s official entry to the Oscars 2023:

• Directed by Nalin, Chhello Show is a semi-autobiographical movie that narrates the story of Nalin’s own childhood.
• Premiered at prestigious film festivals like Tribeca Film Festival’s Spotlight section, this is the only Gujarati movie to achieve this honor.
• To bring the authenticity of roots, the movie is shot in the villages and railway stations of Saurashtra, and most of the child artists in the movie hailed from the local communities of the region.
• Chhello Show was shot in March 2020, right before the Covid-19 pandemic-induced lockdown in India.
• The movie which will be released in Germany, Spain, Japan, Israel, and Portugal also, was nominated for the Tiantan Awards at the 11th Beijing International Film Festival, held in September 2021.
• Chhello Show has won the Golden Spike for Best Film at the 66th Valladolid Film Festival (Seminci) which was held in October 2021.
• Nalin who directed the movie is widely known for his award-winning movies like Angry Indian Goddesses, Valley of Flowers, Ayurveda: Art of Being, and Samsara.
• Samara was the debut movie of Nalin who is regarded as an international filmmaker that won awards at AFI Fest and Melbourne International Film Festival.