Peepli Live, the Hindi film produced by actor Aamir Khan, will be India's official entry to this year's Academy Awards (Oscar) in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
Announcing this at a press meet here on Friday, selection committee chairman K.S. Sethumadhavan said: “Peepli Live is a reflection of India's culture and ethos, even as it highlights the burning problem — farmer suicides.”
“During the selection process, Tamil movie Angadi Theru competed closely and we considered various criteria before selecting Peepli Live,” Film Federation of India president L. Suresh said.
Calling Peepli Live a ‘social satire,' producer-director Ravi Kottarakara said it brought out the pain of poverty.
The subtle humour, which runs throughout the film, sends across the message of social awareness in a far more effective way than a melancholic film would, he added.
The selection committee comprised 15 members, including directors S. Krishnaswamy, Jayaraj and Sekhar Das, sound recordist S.K. Srivastava, writers G. Neelakanta Reddy and C.G. Rajendra Babu, music director Gangai Amaran, and costume designer Anu Vishnu.
Five Tamil films — Singam, Madharasapattinam, Angadi Theru, Raavanan and Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya — were among the 27 films initially shortlisted. Paa, Raajneeti, My Name is Khan, Three Idiots and Pazhassi Raja also made it to the list.
Directed by journalist Anusha Rizvi, Peepli Live is about farmer suicides in the country and talks about how the media and politicians handle the issue.
