Written by Aditeya Goyal, a 13-year-old student

India has another proud moment with the Malayalam movie- ‘Jallikattu’ being India’s official entry to the Oscars in 2021. It is directed by the talented directed Lijo Jose Pellissery and stars actors such as Antony Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sabumon Abdusamad, and Santhy Balachandran to name a few.

Released in Kerala in October 2019, the movie based on a short story by S. Hareesh, has been applauded for its moving storyline as well as the spectacular cinematography and has also received praise at both the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and the 24th Busan International Film Festival.

Read – What Is An Oscar Award?

The title of the film seems to have been taken from the traditional bull-taming event/sport, mostly played in Tamil Nadu during Pongal.

The Jallikattu festival is an event in which a bull is released into a crowd of people, and they try to grab the large hump on the bull’s back and hang on to it while the bull tries to escape. Participants try and hold the hump for as long as possible in an effort to bring the bull to a stop.

The movie centres around the story of a bull causing havoc in a village in Idukki after escaping from a deadly butcher’s shop and the villagers’ attempt to trap it. It brings to light the grave issue of animal cruelty, some inhumane acts, and people bringing each other down in order to gain superiority.

The feature film is often commended for its outstanding sound design and visuals and is said to be chosen for its uniqueness and unlikeliness to the films usually sent as entries in the foreign film category. Pellissery also won the best director award for ‘Jallikattu’ at the 50th International Film Festival of India.

The Indian movies to have been nominated to the top five to date include ‘Lagaan’, ‘Mother India’ and ‘Salaam Bombay’. It would be a moment of glory for India if ‘Jallikattu’ wins an Oscar.

Cover image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jallikattu_man_versus_bull_game.jpg

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