Guru, RRR, 2018: 5 South Indian films that created Oscar buzz

It is not a recent incident that the Indian film industry has set its sights on the prestigious Oscars. Currently, Blessy and Prithviraj Sukumaran’s survival drama ‘Aadujeevitham – The Goat Life’ is attracting Oscar buzz. South Indian cinema proved its excellence when his 1997 Malayalam film Guru made it to the nomination list. The pride of the South Indian film industry has reached new heights as the Telugu film ‘RRR’ won him the 2023 Oscar for Best Original Music. Here, we take a look back at the history of South Indian films, including Oscar nominations, official entries, and awards.

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‘Guru’ is the first Malayalam film submitted by India to the Oscars. This 1997 fantasy drama of his, directed by Rajiv Aanchal, starred Mohanlal, Sureshgopi, Madhupal, Sitara, Kaveri, Sreelakshmi, Nedumudi Venu and Sreenivasan in key roles . At the time, this was India’s official entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category.

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Directed by Salim Ahmed, ‘Adaminte Makan Abu’ is a 2011 social drama with a deep emotional story. Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab star in key roles. The film was India’s official entry for the 2011 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not nominated. The film won four National Film Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Background Score.

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In 2019, Lijo Jose Pellissery treated Mollywood with the action thriller film ‘Jallikattu’. It is based on Hareesh’s short story ‘Maoist’. Antony Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sabmon Abdusamad and Santhi Balachandran played the main roles. The director won the Silver Peacock Award for Best Director trophy at the 50th Indian International Film Festival. It was India’s entry for the 93rd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, but it was not nominated.

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Directed by SS Rajamouli, ‘RRR’ is an epic period action drama in Telugu. Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn, Shriya Saran and others are playing key roles. MM Keeravani’s song ‘Naatu Naatu’ won the Best Original Song award at the 95th Academy Awards. This is the first time that an Indian film’s song has won in this category, and also the first time that an Asian film’s song has won in this category. It was the first Indian film by an Indian production company to win an Academy Award.

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It is a Malayalam survival drama film based on the 2018 Kerala floods that devastated many parts of the state. Directed by Jude Ansany Joseph, it features an ensemble cast including Tovino Thomas, Kunchacko Boban, Asif Ali, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Narain, and Lal. It was India’s official entry for the Academy Awards, but it did not make it into the list.

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