Saturday, 30th August 2014, 04:09 PM IST

The potential Oscars contenders from India this year in the Best Foreign Language category have gone commercial. The commercial films that are up as contenders for Oscar nomination include Dharma Productions’ adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s ‘2 States’ and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Goliyon Ki Raas Leela Ram-Leela’.

 

 

Apart from these, two of Hansal Mehta’s films ‘Shahid’ and ‘Citylights’ are both contenders to represent India at the Oscars. Also, there are three Marathi films namely Mahesh Limaye’s ‘Yellow’, Nagraj Manjule’s ‘Fandry’ and Srihari Sathe’s ‘Ek Hazarchi Note’. With commercial films being considered for the nominations, this will be India’s official entry into the Oscars.

 

 

A source said, “The films in race to represent the Oscars are varied and very very Indian. Any of them could represent India.” We hear that the most likely contenders are Hansal Mehta’s ‘Shahid’ and Srijit Mukherjee’s ‘Jaatishwar’. The source further adds, “These two films contain very strong elements of the Indian ethos. They are Indian in theme and can only be Indian in theme. The three Marathi films are also very strong in terms of theme and performances.”