'I don’t know if RRR is Oscar material, honestly', says director Gautham Menon

Gautham Menon thinks SS Rajamouli's RRR, starring Jr NTR and Ram Charan, is not 'Oscar material'. He also spoke about India's official entry for the Oscars, Chhello Show.

Director Gautham Menon has said he doesn't think that SS Rajamouli's RRR is 'Oscar material'. In a new interview, Gautham was asked about his opinion on RRR not making the cut as India's official entry for the 95th Academy Awards. Last week, the Film Federation of India (FFI) announced that the Gujarati film Chhello Show has been selected from India for the Oscars.

Gautham Menon thinks SS Rajamouli's RRR, starring Jr NTR and Ram Charan, is not 'Oscar material'.

Titled Last Film Show in English, the Pan Nalin directorial will release in theatres countrywide on October 14. According to FFI president TP Aggarwal, Chhello Show was unanimously chosen over films such as RRR, Brahmastra, The Kashmir Files and Rocketry. The film will represent the country in the best international feature film category at the Oscars.

Speaking with India Today, Gautham talked about RRR and Chhello Show, “There's another film that has been selected so I haven't seen that film. I would love to see it. There's a lot of talk about that film also saying, 'This is the film that should make it to the Oscars'. Honestly, I'm not so sure. For me, if one of our films gets the Oscars, very happy about it but then somewhere that drive to be there is not there as yet in that sense. I'm not being sour grapes or anything like that. But to answer your question, I don’t know if RRR is also Oscar material, in that sense, honestly."

Gautham also said, “When we make the film, we really don't think about awards. It is only when the film releases and people love the performance, that there is this chat about awards. A film is never made for an award-winning performance, or, to get the best director award, it's never made like that. We put what the film deserves into it. Right? That's all it is."

Ahead of FFI's announcement, people on social media platforms rooted for SS Rajamouli's RRR and Vivek Agnihotri's Kashmir Files to be selected as India's entry for the Oscars. However, they were left disappointed when both failed to make the cut. RRR's US distributor, Variance Films, has requested the Academy to consider the film 'in all categories'.

The film will be submitted for several categories including best picture, director, original screenplay, lead actor, supporting actor, and supporting actress among others. RRR features Jr NTR and Ram Charan as real-life revolutionaries Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitaraman, respectively. The film is set in the 1920s when India was under the British Raj.