‘Koozhangal’ becomes India’s Oscar entry, director says focus was to make 'honest film'

Debutant director Vinothraj PS had a surreal moment on Saturday after his film, Koozhangal (Pebbles) was selected as India's official entry to the upcoming Oscars. The film follows the path of an alcoholic and abusive husband, whose wife leaves him and runs off after experiencing suffering at his hands. He then takes his young son and sets out to find her and bring her back. Speaking to PTI the director mentioned that the goal was to make an 'honest and simple film'.

Koozhangal director opens up about film after it becomes India's official Oscar entry

Vinothraj PS was over the moon after his film was selected by the Film Federation of India to represent India at the Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category. The director told PTI that the team did 'didn't expect the film to be recognised at this level' and only focused on making an honest and simple film. He stated that the team was excited, overwhelmed and emotional by the news. The film starred Karuththadaiyaan and Chellapandi in lead roles and has been screened at multiple international film festivals. The film has travelled far and wide including to the Shanghai International Film Festival and other Indian Film Festivals in Los Angeles.

Vinothraj took to Twitter to announce nomination

Speaking about having a chance to be nominated for the Academy award, the director mentioned that there wasn't much pressure, he and the team are simply glad to be recognised for their work. The film also won the Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam earlier this year. Vinothraj took to Twitter to break the news and mentioned he was emotional after the experience. The director mentioned in his interview that he initially wished to become a cinematographer, and that was how he got into the film industry. However, his life was not a bed of roses as from a very early age he was forced to do a few odd jobs in his childhood. He mentioned that he worked at a DVD shop in Chennai, which was where he was introduced to cinema.

The director mentioned he began working on Koozhangal in 2018 and it is inspired by his personal experience. He mentioned that one of his sisters was chased down by her husband for 14 km after a fight between them. He added that he began filming for the movie in 2109 in the scorching heat, and Vinothraj PS mentioned that the cameras often got jammed due to the heat.

(Image: AP, Twitter/@VigneshShivN)