India’s Oscar Entry ‘Gondhal’ Unveils Global Trailer (EXCLUSIVE)

“Gondhal,” the Marathi-language thriller India has put forward for the international feature Oscar at the 99th Academy Awards, has launched its global trailer as its awards push moves into a new phase. The film is the first feature from writer-director Santosh Davakhar. It was chosen from a field of 33 films in contention for India’s […] India’s Oscar entry ‘Gondhal,’ a Marathi thriller set during a folk ritual and scored by Ilaiyaraaja, has launched its global trailer. “Gondhal,” the Marathi-language thriller India has put forward for the international feature Oscar at the 99th Academy Awards, has launched its global trailer as its awards push moves into a new phase.

The film is the first feature from writer-director Santosh Davakhar. It was chosen from a field of 33 films in contention for India’s submission. The story plays out over a single night in rural Maharashtra, during a Gondhal, a folk ritual in which devotion is expressed through song, dance and theatrical storytelling. Ishita Deshmukh plays Suman, a young wife stuck in a suffocating marriage. She tries to take back control by playing on the fixation her lover Sarjerao (Nishad Bhoir) has developed for her. As her desires run up against codes of honor and custom, the