Santosh Davakhar has responded to Anurag Kashyap’s comments on India’s Oscar selections, urging audiences to watch Gondhal before judging the Marathi psychological thriller.
The Oscar race has suddenly turned into a heated Bollywood-versus-regional-cinema conversation. Marathi psychological thriller Gondhal, directed by debut filmmaker Santosh Davakhar, has been selected as India’s official entry for the 99th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. But shortly after the announcement, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap questioned India’s history of choosing films for the Oscars.
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And now, Gondhal director Santosh Davakhar has responded.
The filmmaker did not launch a direct personal attack on Kashyap. Instead, he made a pointed request: watch the film first, and then judge it.
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Anurag Kashyap Questions India’s Oscar Selection Process
In an interview with Variety India, Anurag Kashyap spoke openly about India’s repeated Oscar disappointments and argued that the country has sometimes failed to select films he believed had stronger international potential.
Kashyap specifically mentioned The Lunchbox and All We Imagine As Light, saying that India had opportunities to select such films but, in his view, “messed it up.”
He also raised concerns about what he described as excessive politics and a lack of awareness surrounding the selection process.
However, there was an important caveat in Kashyap’s comments.
The filmmaker acknowledged that he had not watched Gondhal and therefore was not in a position to give a definitive opinion about the film itself.
That distinction has now become central to the response from Santosh Davakhar.
Santosh Davakhar’s Response: ‘Please Watch the Film Before Passing a Verdict’
Davakhar responded in the comments section of a social media post discussing Kashyap’s remarks.
The Gondhal filmmaker said he deeply respects Kashyap and his filmmaking. He then recalled meeting the director during a Bengaluru-Mumbai flight on April 26.
According to Davakhar, he introduced Kashyap to Gondhal during the journey. Kashyap allegedly told him that he had neither heard of nor watched the film but would definitely watch it.
Davakhar pointed out that the film had not subsequently been publicly available or screened in Mumbai, making a verdict about the movie itself premature.
His message to audiences was simple: watch Gondhal before passing judgment.
That response has added another layer to the Oscar conversation. What initially looked like criticism of India’s Oscar selection has now turned into a larger debate about whether a film should be evaluated before audiences and filmmakers have had a chance to see it properly.
What Makes Gondhal Different?
Gondhal is not a conventional mainstream Bollywood-style Oscar contender.
The Marathi film is a psychological thriller deeply rooted in Maharashtra’s traditional Gondhal ritual — a centuries-old folk performance combining devotional music, dance, storytelling and religious traditions.
The story unfolds against the backdrop of rural Maharashtra and revolves around Suman, a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage.
Her relationship with a charismatic Gondhali performer triggers a dangerous chain of desire, deception, betrayal and violence.
The film features Ishita Deshmukh, Yogesh Sohoni, Kishor Kadam, Suresh Vishwakarma, Nishad Bhoir, Anuj Prabhu and Vitthal Kale in key roles.
For Davakhar, the cultural identity of the film is a major part of its international appeal.
The filmmaker has previously spoken about wanting to show international audiences a side of India that goes beyond the familiar narratives of poverty, marginalisation and social struggle.
In his view, India’s rich cultural traditions can also become the foundation for globally accessible cinema.
Gondhal Already Has a Major Festival Achievement
One major factor working in Gondhal’s favour is that the film is not entering the Oscar conversation without prior recognition.
At the 56th International Film Festival of India in 2025, Santosh Davakhar won the prestigious Silver Peacock for Best Director for Gondhal.
The IFFI jury praised the film for its handling of tradition, form and narrative precision, describing it as a captivating cinematic work that keeps viewers on edge.
The award also gave Davakhar an important international-film-festival credential before the Oscar selection.
The film has continued to build festival recognition, with reports also noting awards at the 24th Pune International Film Festival in 2026, including Best Director and Best Cinematographer.
So while the Oscar selection has generated fresh attention, Gondhal was already building a festival track record.
An Unusual Oscar Journey for a Debut Filmmaker
Perhaps the most interesting part of the story is Davakhar himself.
Unlike filmmakers who emerge from major production houses or established Bollywood families, Davakhar comes from outside the traditional film-industry ecosystem.
He has worked as a project consultant and has also been involved in social work and teaching. His earlier short film Adnyat explored class divisions and received recognition at international festivals.
His filmmaking journey therefore makes the Oscar selection even more significant.
A debut feature rooted in Marathi culture, created by a filmmaker outside the conventional film fraternity, has now become the movie representing India in one of the world’s most watched film awards.
That alone is likely to generate curiosity among international programmers, distributors and festival audiences.
But the Oscar Selection Is Only the Beginning
There is one crucial thing audiences need to understand: being selected as India’s official Oscar entry does not mean Gondhal has been nominated for an Oscar yet.
The film now enters the Academy’s Best International Feature Film selection process.
The Academy will eventually narrow down the international submissions before announcing the final nominees.
The 99th Academy Awards are scheduled for March 14, 2027, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
That means Davakhar and his team now have an enormous campaign ahead of them.
And the director has already indicated that they are preparing for it.
Davakhar has said that the team is ready for the Oscar campaign and has already hired most of its media and PR team in Los Angeles.
That is important because Oscar campaigning requires considerably more than simply having a strong film. International screenings, festival exposure, industry awareness, publicity and access to Academy voters can all become important parts of the journey.
Anurag Kashyap Controversy Could Actually Bring More Eyes to Gondhal
Ironically, the latest controversy may increase curiosity around Gondhal.
The film has now entered conversations extending beyond Marathi cinema and festival circles. The phrase “India picks the wrong films for Oscars” has created a strong headline, while Davakhar’s “watch the film before passing a verdict” response has given the debate a personal angle.
For a film preparing for an international campaign, visibility matters.
The controversy does not determine the film’s artistic or Oscar prospects, but it can certainly increase public awareness.
And that could encourage more audiences to discover the film when it returns to theatres.
What Happens Next for Gondhal?
The immediate challenge is exposure.
Davakhar has urged audiences to support Gondhal in theatres during its upcoming re-release, emphasising that the film was created specifically for the big screen rather than for an OTT-first experience.
The team will also need to introduce the film to international audiences who may have little familiarity with the Gondhal tradition.
That cultural element could become both the film’s biggest selling point and one of its biggest challenges.
The filmmakers will have to communicate the emotional thriller at the heart of Gondhal while ensuring that its specifically Maharashtrian cultural setting remains accessible to global viewers.
Meanwhile, the Anurag Kashyap remarks are likely to keep the conversation alive.
For now, Davakhar’s position is clear: don’t judge the film without watching it.
Whether Gondhal ultimately reaches the Oscar nominations or not, its selection has already delivered a significant moment for Marathi cinema and for a filmmaker who came from outside the traditional industry system.
The next chapter will be much bigger — taking Gondhal from Maharashtra to Los Angeles and putting a distinctly Marathi cultural story in front of the global film community.
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