The all-risk gamble behind ‘Gondhal’ as it charts its journey to the Oscars

To be selected as India’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film Oscar is an honour – and a burden. It takes confidence, commitment and courage to navigate the thicket of largely American voters and carve out attention from among the host of titles from around the world.

Santosh Davakhar, the writer-director-producer of India’s Oscar pick Gondhal, is bursting with the three Cs. Davakhar is highly optimistic about the Marathi-language film, a dark tale of desire and obsession that unfolds amidst a celebration of the Jagran Gondhal ritual.

Davakhar recently attended screenings of Gondhal in America, where he talked about a film that has a specific cultural context. Private shows of Gondhal are also being organised in India, including one in Mumbai on Tuesday that will be graced by the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s wife, Amruta Fadnavis.

Efforts are underway to introduce Gondhal (its English title is Sacred Obsession) to non-Marathi speakers. Originally released in November 2025, Gondhal has since been dubbed into Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada and will be re-released on November 13.

Davakhar told Scroll that his ambition with his debut feature was always to make a film that spoke not only to viewers across India but also to international audiences. “I wanted to craft a film that reflects Indian heritage but is also...

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