'Jallikattu' star Antony Varghese credits director Lijo's vision for film's Oscar entry

It has been recently announced that the 2019 Malayalam film Jallikattu has been selected as India’s official entry for Best International Film Award in the 93rd Academy Awards. The movie is directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery and stars Antony Varghese in the lead role. There was a lot of hype on social media after the news of the film getting an entry in the Oscars came in. Upon being asked, Anthony has revealed that he had simply followed Lijo’s directions in the film. Have a look on what the actor said.

“Blindly followed Lijo’s vision": Antony Varghese

His most recent movie Jallikattu getting an entry in the Academy Awards has come as a pleasant surprise for actor Antony Varghese. He revealed that when he initially started getting calls from family and friends about the news, he thought they were playing a prank on him and he believed that to be true only when he started receiving many other calls, according to Mid Day. He has further credited the movie’s director, Lijo Jose Pellissery for the success of the film, adding, “I hadn't imagined in my wildest dreams that our film would be a contender at the Oscars. We blindly followed Lijo's vision.”

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The plot of Jallikattu follows the story of a tamed buffalo who then breaks free while saving itself from slaughter and creates havoc while running open in Kerala. The chairman of the Jury Board, Rahul Rawail, has revealed the reason why they have selected this film and taken it ahead.

He said, “The movie is rooted in the Indian ethos. The jury found it deeply engaging and is confident,” while also crediting the powerful story-telling of the film. He also revealed that there was quite a discussion and a debate while finalizing the list of the films to be taken ahead.

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Antony Varghese had made his debut in 2017 with the film Angamaly Diaries, which was followed by two more movies Swathandriam Ardharathriyil and Jallikkattu releasing in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Jallikattu in turn made a decent collection in the box office and was received well by both the audience and the critics. 

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