Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt starrer 'Gully Boy' has been named as India’s official entry to Oscars 2020. Directed by Zoya Akhtar, the film chronicled the story of Mumbai’s street rappers and was said to loosely based on rapper Naezy’s life. The movie, which was released in February this year, also features Vijay Raaz, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Vijay Varma and Amruta Subhash.
If nominated, the film will compete in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 92nd Academy Awards. As per reports, Ayushmann Khurrana’s 'AndhaDhun', 'Article 15', 'Badhaai Ho', Varun Dhawan’s 'Badla', among others were competing for the nomination.
Announcing the development, producer Farhan Akhtar tweeted, “#GullyBoy has been selected as India’s official entry to the 92nd Oscar Awards.” Kalki, who played a pivotal role in the movie, also expressed her excitement on the film’s selection. “Woweeeeeeeee! That is just the best Saturday evening news!” she tweeted.
The film received widespread praise from critics as well as the audience. It is among the top earners of 2019, having made £23.8 million worldwide. No Indian film has ever won an Oscar. The last Indian film that made it to the final five in the Best Foreign Film category list was Ashutosh Gowariker’s 'Lagaan' in 2001. 'Mother India' (1958) and 'Salaam Bombay' (1989) are the other two Indian movies to have made it to the top five. Assamese film 'Village Rockstars,' directed by Rima Das, was India’s official submission to the Oscars last year. The 92nd Academy Awards will take place on February 9, 2020 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, US.
