Rudhramadevi has been recommended by the Film Federation of India as the Oscar submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category. FFI’s recommendation does not ensure Rudhramadevi’s Oscar slot, though. The film will have to beat other such recommendations from across the country, before it is selected as the official Indian entry.
The film’s director Gunasekhar confirmed the news through his tweet :
FilmFederationOfIndiaRECOMMENDED #Rudhramadevi for the #OscarAward in the category of ‘BestForeignLanguageFilmAward’ pic.twitter.com/5EkmmtFQMb
— Gunasekhar (@Gunasekhar1) August 10, 2016
The film documented the life and times of Kakatiya Empress Rani Rudhramadevi and is only the second Telugu film to be recommended for the Oscars. Kamal Haasan’s Swathi Muthyam (1986) was the first Telugu film to gain that distinction. The director, Gunasekhar said, “It is good that our film has been selected. The content of the film is what took it to that stage.”
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Rudhramadevi was released in both 3D and 2D formats in October 2015. The film featured the talents of Anushka Shetty as Rani Rudhramadevi along with Allu Arjun, Rana Daggubati,Prakash Raj, Nithya Menen, Baba Sehgal and Catherine Tresa. Interestingly, actors Prakash Raj and Allu Arjun, worked in the film without any remuneration. Made on a budget of around 80 Crores, the film opened to mostly mixed reviews.
Thus far, only three Indian films – Mother India, Salaam Bombay! and Lagaan have been nominated for the Academy Award.