Koozhangal Beats Sardar Udham in the Academy Awards Race, Jury Explains Why

The Tamil film Koozhangal beat both Sardar Udham and Sherni to become India's official entry to the Oscars.

Jury members explain why Sardar Udham wasn't selected as India's entry to the Oscars.

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Vicky Kaushal-starrer Sardar Udham, directed by Shoojit Sircar is out of the race to become India’s official entry to the Oscars. The Tamil film Koozhangal is the official selection. After the announcement, jury members explain why Sardar Udham, one of the most popular films, wasn't selected.

Indraadip Dasgupta, who was the part of the jury, reasoned that the film ‘portrays our hatred towards the British’. While he appreciated the film's production quality and cinematography, Dasgupta said, "Sardar Udham is a little lengthy and harps on the Jallianwala Bagh incident. It is an honest effort to make a lavish film on an unsung hero of the Indian freedom struggle."

Dasgupta added, "But in the process, it again projects our hatred towards the British. In this era of globalization, it is not fair to hold on to this hatred.”

Another jury member Sumit Basu credited the length of the movie as the problem and said, “Many have loved Sardar Udham for its cinematic quality including camerawork, editing, sound design and depiction of the period. I thought the length of the film was an issue."

Basu added, "It has a delayed climax. It takes a lot of time for a viewer to feel the real pain for the martyrs of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.”

Sardar Udham tells the story of a revolutionary Sardhar Udham Singh who is known for the assassination of Michael O'Dwyer to avenge the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Filmmaker Shaji N Karun headed the 15 member jury which decides India's entry to the Academy Awards. This year the honour went to Vinothraj PS' film Koozhangal starring Chellapandi and Karuththadaiyaan.