India’s official entry to the Oscars this year, Chhello Show is mired in controversy. After FWICE claimed that the film that released in English is produced by foreign studios and is not an Indian film, the Gujarati film was tagged as a copy of Cinema Paradiso (1988).

The director of Chhello Show, Pan Nalin, reacted on Twitter. “Copy? Homage? Inspiration? Original? Find out yourself on 14.10.2022 in cinemas near you. Power to the people, let them decide,” he wrote.

Another controversy is about it not being an Indian film. The Film Federation of India (FFI) that selected the film reacted to the same. FFI president T P Aggarwal told Indian Express, “I can’t say anything about that, I am not sure about it.” He added, “I had asked the jury members, they have seen the picture so many times and they said no (it is not a copy). Not a single scene is similar in the film. It can be inspired by that (Cinema Paradiso), but it is not a copy.”