NEW DELHI, Oct 26: Tamil film 'Koozhangal' (Pebbles) has been chosen as India's
official entry for the Oscars 2022.
Koozhangal is directed by PSVinothraj, starring Karuththadaiyan and Chella
Pandi and produced by Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan’s Rowdy Pictures. It had
its world premiere at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam where it
received the Tiger Award. The festival was held in Netherlands on February 4,
2021.
'Koozhangal' has been hailed by moviegoers as a debutant director's powerful,
shocking and sensational work. It is the story of a boy following his violent
and alcoholic father (Velu and Ganapathy played by Chellapandi and Karutthadaiyaan,
respectively) to bring back his mother, who ran away from her abusive husband.
The film does not seek to explain but shows life as it is. The landscape is
Arittapati, near Melur in Madurai. The whole film was shot at Arittapati in
30 days.
A 15-member selection committee set up by the Film Federation of India made
the selection. Shaji N Karun is the chairperson of the committee. There were
14 films shortlisted, including Malayalam film Nayattu, Tamil film Mandela and
Hindi film Sardar Udham. The selection of Koozhangal was unanimous.
The 94th Academy Awards will be held on March 27, 2022, in Los Angeles. If
selected, the film will compete for the Academy Award for Best International
Feature Film.
