Sanjith Sidhardhan, Deepa Soman and Anna Mathews (BOMBAY TIMES; November 26, 2020)

Director Lijo Jose Pellissery’s acclaimed Malayalam film, Jallikattu, has been announced as India’s official entry for the 93rd Academy Awards, which will be held in April 2021. The movie, which is an entry in the International Feature Films category, was unanimously chosen from among 27 entries across various languages. Written by S Hareesh and R Jayakumar, the atmospheric film tells the story of a buffalo running amok in a village and how the villagers get together to hunt it down, while revealing the tensions that erupt during the event.

Lijo, who is often known to tread the unconventional paths of filmmaking, is someone who has been offering viewers new movie experiences through his films. In an earlier interview, he had said, “I made a film, which I was passionate about. That is the biggest return for me.” However, being India’s Oscar entry and Malayalam film industry’s latest entry to the Academy Awards after Adaminte Makan Abu (2011), would probably top that. Here’s how the film’s team responded to the selection.
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‘THE HONOUR BELONGS TO THE TEAM OF THE FILM’: Lijo Jose Pellissery, director

All awards and accolades honour the effort that has gone behind creating a film. I am extremely happy about this honour for the entire team of Jallikattu. They worked hard to make the film what it is.
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‘I CONSIDER IT MY BIGGEST FORTUNE TO ACT IN A LIJO JOSE PELLISSERY FILM’: Antony Varghese, actor

I still can’t believe the news. When people started calling me to inform me that the movie has been selected as India’s entry to the Oscars, I thought they are playing a prank. I consider it my biggest blessing to have acted in this film and for Jallikattu to go to the Oscars is a bonus. Working with Lijo chettan is a natural process; he asks you to react and emote as you do in real life and that’s why his films are rooted in reality. With the pandemic and lockdown, this year has made all of us feel a bit low, but this news has cheered all of us.
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‘IT IS LOCALLY ROOTED, BUT HAS GLOBAL APPEAL’: Santhy Balachandran, actor

When Jallikattu was screened at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival, I thought it was interesting how the international audience reacted to the humour in it. It was well received even though it is such a locally rooted story because its theme is universal; it is about human nature. It is great that Malayalam cinema is being recognised and it is an honour to be sent as a representative of Indian cinema abroad.
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Akash Bhatnagar (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 26, 2020)

On Wednesday, the Film Federation of India announced that the Malayalam film Jallikattu will be India’s official entry to the 93rd Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category. The 2019 independent action film was the choice of a 14-member jury, headed by Rahul Rawail, from a list of 27 films. Explaining the reason behind the selection, Rahul pointed out, “The film, that takes place over one night, offers a unique ensemble of locations and relevant characters, becoming worthy of representing the country”.

Amongst the Hindi films in contention were Shakuntala Devi, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, Malang, Chhalaang, Gulabo Sitabo, Kaamyaab, Chintu Ka Birthday, and Shikara. Also, on the list were productions of three leading actresses—Deepika Padukone’s Chhapaak, Anushka Sharma’s Bulbbul and Priyanka Chopra’s The Sky Is Pink. Due to the pandemic, the deadline for submission was extended to films released before Dec 31, 2020, and Anurag Kashyap’s AK vs AK, also entered the race. Marathi films, The Disciple, Bittersweet, Oriya film Yesterday’s Past and another Malayalam film, Moothon, made the cut too.

Jallikattu is based on a short story, Maoist, by S Hareesh, who’s also written the screenplay for the film, and features Antony Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sabumon Abdusamad and Santhy Balachandran. It follows a bull that escapes from a slaughterhouse and all the men of the village try to hunt it down.

Director Lijo Jose Pellissery told Mirror shortly, “The entire unit of the film is proud and very happy that our film will represent India on a global platform.”