'Chhello Show', 'All That Breathes', song from 'RRR' enter Oscars 2023 shortlist
New Delhi (PTI): India's official entry to the upcoming Oscars "Chhello Show", acclaimed documentary feature "All That Breathes", documentary short "The Elephant Whisperers", and "Naatu Naatu" -- the song from period action blockbuster "RRR" have made it to the 95th Academy Awards shortlist, the organisers said Thursday morning.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body behind the awards, announced the shortlists in 10 categories: documentary feature film, documentary short film, international feature film, makeup and hairstyling, music (original score), music (original song), animated short film, live action short film, sound, and visual effects.
While "Chhello Show" is part of the international feature film shortlist, "Naatu Naatu" from "RRR" appears on the music (original song) shortlist. "All That Breathes" and "The Elephant Whisperers" are included in the shortlists of documentary feature and documentary short segments, respectively.
There are 15 contenders in the shortlists of the above four categories.
Directed by Pan Nalin and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur and Dheer Momaya, "Chhello Show" (titled "Last Film Show" in English) is a Gujarati-language coming-of-age story of a young boy's love affair with cinema in a Saurashtra village.
The team of "Chhello Show" said they are humbled and overjoyed that their heartfelt ode to the cinematic medium has been recognised by the Academy.
"Ever since our selection by the Film Federation of India as India's Official Entry to the 95th Oscars, we knew in our hearts that the film was bound for something special.
"We would like to thank the FFI, the millions of people who watched and admired 'Chhello Show', as well as our international distributors who gave the film a well-deserved push. This is a historic moment for India and we hope to bring the Oscar home very soon," Kapur, Momaya and Nalin said in a joint statement.
According to the Academy's official website, "Chhello Show" will compete with films, including "Argentina, 1985" (Argentina), "Decision to Leave" (South Korea), "All Quiet on the Western Front" (Germany), "Close" (Belgium) and "The Blue Caftan" (Morocco).
This is the third major international nomination for "Naatu Naatu", the popular Telugu song from SS Rajamouli's magnum opus "RRR". The pan-India film follows a pre-independence fictional story woven around two real-life Indian revolutionaries - Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Jr NTR) - in the 1920s.
As part of the music (original song) Oscars shortlist, "Naatu Naatu" will face off with 14 other tracks, which include "Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)" from "Avatar: The Way of Water", "Lift Me Up" from "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever", "Ciao Papa" from "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio", "Hold My Hand" from "Top Gun: Maverick", and "Carolina" from "Where the Crawdads Sing".
"Naatu Naatu", composed by MM Keeravaani and penned by Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj, was previously nominated for a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award.
Shaunak Sen's celebrated film "All That Breathes", an internationally co-produced Hindi title, is vying for a spot in the top five of the best documentary feature category.
"We made the shortlist, congos to all the other films!" wrote Sen on his Instagram Stories.
Delhi-set "All That Breathes" follows two siblings, Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, who have devoted their lives to rescue and treat injured birds, especially the Black Kites.
It previously won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at this year's Sundance Film Festival, a film gala that promotes independent cinema and filmmakers, and earned Sen the Golden Eye award for the best documentary at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
Other shortlisted nominees in the documentary feature category are: "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed", "Bad Axe", "Children of the Mist", "Descendant", "Fire of Love", "Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song", "Hidden Letters", "A House Made of Splinters", "The Janes", "Last Flight Home", "Moonage Daydream", "Navalny", "Retrograde", and "The Territory".
Kartiki Gonsalves' "The Elephant Whisperers" is a Tamil documentary short that depicts an unbreakable bond between two abandoned elephants and their caretakers. It is produced by Guneet Monga and Achin Jain of Sikhya Entertainment.
In an Instagram post, Monga said she is thrilled for the entire team.
"It's an honour to have made it to the top 15 shortlisted documentary films and we absolutely couldn't have done it without the support of @raghavkhanna24 @alokethebloke from team @Netflix," the producer, who won an Oscar for documentary short "Period. End of Sentence" in 2019.
"Super excited for Last Film Show's nomination in the official shortlist selection for Best International Feature Film!" she added.
To make it to the final five of the documentary short category, "The Elephant Whisperers" will have to fight it out with "The Flagmakers", "Nuisance Bear", "Shut Up and Paint", "Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices from a Plantation Prison", "Anastasia", and nine other documentary shorts in the section.
Each shortlist is determined by members of that corresponding branch, except for the international feature film segment.
Members from all branches are invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must meet a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category, the Academy said.
The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards will be announced on January 24, while the Oscars ceremony will be held on March 12, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
