Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar ecstatic over Gully Boy as India’s Oscar entry: ‘It is a beautiful film’

Actors Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt-starrer Gully Boy, which received an overwhelming response for its powerful dialogues, rap songs and the acting prowess of the lead pair, was recently selected as India’s official entry to the 92nd Oscar Awards.

Farhan Akhtar and Priyanka Chopra who are gearing up for the release of their next outing The Sky Is Pink expressed happiness over Gully Boy’s Oscar entry. Elated by the news, Farhan, who is one of the producers of the film said, “I am very grateful to the Film Federation of India as they have selected Gully Boy.”

“Gully Boy has been selected as India’s entry for Oscars. And I am very grateful to the Film Federation of India as they have selected Gully Boy,” the Bhaag Milkha Bhaag actor told ANI. He also went on to say that they will work their hardest to get into the final five.

“A lot of hard work is left, about 150 countries send in their entries for the foreign film category. So to get selected and reach in the final five is a very big thing in itself. After which, we’ll see what happens next. But firstly we’ll work our hardest to get into the final five,” the star added.

Priyanka too expressed her happiness and called Gully Boy a “beautiful film”. The actor also went on to say that it has the “potential” to reach the final five.

“We send one film each year as our entry for Oscars. Every year, one film gets selected that is sent as an entry for the foreign film category. But this time, what is really special about Gully Boy is firstly it’s a beautiful film and secondly every person who is attached to this movie is my friend. Thirdly, I really feel there’s a lot of potential in this film to reach the final five,” she told ANI.

The Mary Kom actor, who is making her Bollywood comeback with The Sky Is Pink after a hiatus of nearly three years, said that she feels Gully Boy is “one film that represents our industry very well.” “My dream is that Hindi cinema should be appreciated internationally as well. And I feel Gully Boy is one film that represents our industry very well. So I am very happy and would support the team as much as I can,” Priyanka said.

The Zoya Akhtar directorial draws inspiration from the lives of Mumbai street rappers Vivian Fernandes aka Divine and Naved Shaikh aka Naezy and revolves around the underground rap movement in India. In the film, Ranveer and Siddhant Chaturvedi play budding street rappers Murad and MC Sher from the slums of Mumbai, while Alia essays the role of Safeena, an aspiring medical student in love with Murad.

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Gully Boy also starred Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Vijay Raaz in pivotal roles. The film opened to rave reviews from both film critics and audiences. It first premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. Many of the international publications gave the film a good review. The film, produced by Farhan, Zoya and Ritesh Sidhwani, released on Valentine’s Day, February 14.

The film has received a number of accolades including the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, South Korea and Best Film at the Indian Festival of Melbourne in August this year.

The 92nd Academy Awards will take place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, US.

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