Even though Akshay Kumar’s Mission Raniganj didn’t perform well at the box office, fans still liked it. The Akshay Kumar-starring film is based on a true story in which an engineer saved 65 workers when a coal minery in West Bengal flooded. According to sources, the film’s creators (Pooja Entertainment) separately nominated it for an Oscar.
In addition to Parineeti Chopra, Varun Badola, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Rajesh Sharma, and Virendra Saxena, the film is directed by Tinu Suresh Desai. Every nation may submit non-English films to the Academy for Oscars in addition to the official selection, subject to final selection.
The Malayalam-language survival drama 2018, starring Tovino Thomas and directed by Jude Anthany Joseph, was announced by the Film Federation of India as the nation’s official Oscar entry. The film has a large ensemble cast and is based on the Kerala floods of 2018.
Gully Boy, Last Film Show, Pebbles, and Jallikattu, among other films, have just been chosen as India’s official Oscar entries. The Telugu-language epic RRR won the Academy Award for Best Original Song last year, despite not being selected to compete for the Best International Film award, making it a particularly fruitful year for Indian cinema at the Oscars. Mother India, Salaam Bombay, and Lagaan are the only three Indian films in history to receive nominations in this category. Writing with Fire and All that Breathes, two Indian documentary films, have also received nominations in the previous two years. The Elephant Whisperers took home the prize for Best Documentary Short last year.
Mission Raniganj, which was released last Friday, has so far made Rs 18.25 crore at the box office despite a terrible opening weekend of just Rs 2.8 crore. Despite the movie’s lacklustre box office performance, Akshay Kumar claimed in an interview with Times Now Navbharat that it is still one of his greatest. “It is not a commercial film. It has not earned as much as it should have earned. But, I have come here knowing that the film has not done well, to own the film–and I have done some 150 films by now–and say that this is one of my best films,” he said.
When the journalist said actors don’t usually own up when their films don’t do well, Akshay added, “Main ulta hu (I am the opposite). Film has not worked, but I want to own up and say it is my best film.”
On March 10, 2024, Los Angeles will play host to the 96th Academy Awards ceremony. On January 23, the whole list of nominees will be made public.
