Oscars 2023: RRR begins campaign for Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, other categories

A few weeks ago, cinephiles and critics both in India and in the West were left disappointed after SS Rajamouli's RRR, starring Ram Charan and Jr NTR was snubbed and Pan Nalin's Gujarati language film Chhello Show, titled Last Film Show in English, was picked as India's official entry to the Oscars for Best International Feature category.

Set in 1920, RRR explores the undocumented period in the lives of Komaram Bheem (Jr NTR) and Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan), when both the revolutionaries choose to go into oblivion before they join the fight for independent India. The film has explored a blind spot in history for a cinematic spectacle, as there seem to be no records about what happened in the lives of these freedom fighters when they were away from their homes.

RRR grossed ₹1,150-1,200 crore (US$150–160 million) worldwide, setting several box office records for an Indian film, including the third-highest-grossing Indian film. RRR has been hailed as one of the best cinematic experiences by both the critics and cine-goers in India and in the West and is among the favourites to win the Oscar statuette for Best Motion Picture for which it has started campaigning, among other categories.

Dishing out details that RRR will be campaigning for all Oscar Awards categories it is eligible for, an LA Times reporter tweeted, "It's official: #RRRMovie’s FYC awards/Oscars campaign is going for Best Picture, @ssrajamouli for Best Director, Actor (both Jr NTR & Ram Charan), Screenplay, Original Song, Score, Editing, Cinematography, Sound, Production Design, VFX and more categories #RRRforOscars #OscaRRRs."

It’s official: #RRRMovie’s FYC awards/Oscars campaign is going for Best Picture, @ssrajamouli for Best Director, Actor (both Jr NTR & Ram Charan), Screenplay, Original Song, Score, Editing, Cinematography, Sound, Production Design, VFX and more categories #RRRforOscars #OscaRRRs pic.twitter.com/gJh8PzmjmY

— jen yamato (@jenyamato) October 5, 2022

Earlier, Variance Films, the US distributor had told Variety that it had decided to launch a full campaign for SS Rajamouli's magnum opus, RRR, calling on the 10,000 members of the Academy to consider voting for the Telugu-language film in all categories.  Talking to Variety about RRR's chances at the Oscars 2023, Variance Films president Dylan Marchetti said, "Over the last six months, we have seen the joy that S.S. Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’ has brought to global audiences. We have seen the film gross over $140 million worldwide to become one of India’s highest-grossing films of all time and become the first film in history to trend globally on Netflix for over 14 weeks." "We have seen the film fill up theatres with cheering audiences months after its initial release, including the historic TCL Chinese IMAX theatre in Hollywood, where it will play next Friday to an audience that sold out of one of the largest theatres in the country in just 15 minutes. Most importantly, we have heard fans from around the world tell us that they believe this is one of the best films of the year from any nation. We agree. We proudly invite the Academy to consider RRR in all categories", Dylan added.

Meanwhile, according to Film Federation of India President TP Aggarwal, Chhello Show was unanimously chosen over films such as SS Rajamouli's RRR, Ranbir Kapoor-led Brahmastra: Part One Shiva, Vivek Agnihotri's The Kashmir Files and R Madhavan's directorial debut Rocketry as India's official entry to the Oscars.

Chhello Show/Last Film Show is set in a remote rural village of Saurashtra and the story is inspired by Nalin's own memories of falling in love with movies as a child in rural Gujarat. The film follows the story of a nine-year-old boy who begins a lifelong love affair with cinema when he bribes his way into a rundown movie palace and spends a summer watching movies from the projection booth.

The last Indian film that made it to the final five was the Aamir Khan-led Lagaan in 2001. Mother India (1958) and Salaam Bombay (1989) are the other two Indian movies to have made it to the top five.

The 95th Academy Awards are scheduled to occur on March 12, 2023, in Los Angeles.