The Film Federation of (FFI), a non-governmental body of producers, distributors and studio owners formed in 1951, is facing backlash over its choice of Kiran Rao’s as India’s official submission to the ‘ best feature category. The selection of from a competitive slate of 29 films came as a surprise to many who expected Payal Kapadia’s to represent the country Kapadia’s film made history as the first Indian title to compete at the Cannes Film Festival in three decades, and it went on to win the Grand Prix, the festival’s second-highest award. Given that last year’s Grand Prix winner, Jonathan Glazer’s , subsequently won the Oscar for best international feature, questions have emerged regarding the jury’s choices.
After reports that the jury saw as “less Indian” than , FFI president Ravi Kottarakara tells , “The jury said that they were watching a European film taking place in India, not an Indian film taking place in India.” According to Kottarakara, the “Indian-ness” of stems from its central plot, which tells the story of two brides who accidentally swap husbands during a train ride. The two women end up switching partners when one of their husbands mistakes the other woman for his wife, thanks to the fact that both are wearing a ghoonghat, or veil, concealing their identities.
(The ghoonghat is a fabric that covers a woman’s entire face, concealing her identity and, by extension, her modesty. While many view the practice as archaic, the cust.