RRR’s Naatu Naatu, Chhello Show, All That Breathes nominated for Oscars 2023: Details

Three films from India are part of several shortlists for the 2023 Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Wednesday. The energetic dance song “Naatu Naatu”, from SS Rajamouli’s action-packed affair RRR, is vying for a spot in the Best Original Song category. India’s international feature entry this year is the Pan Nalin-directed Chhello Show / The Last Film Show, which goes up against the likes of Joyland, a first-ever nomination for Pakistan. AMPAS has revealed shortlists for the 2023 Oscars in 10 categories, whose entries will be whittled down to five or six, with all the other nominees to be revealed on 24 January 2023. The 95th Academy Awards are scheduled to take place on March 12, 2023.

The third Indian film to be featured is All That Breathes, a documentary by Shaunak Sen in New Delhi that explores two brothers who dedicate their lives to treating injured birds. All That Breathes has also been nominated in the Best Documentary category. It is among the top 15 films to make the Academy’s list, having survived stiff competition against 143 others. All That Breathes is yet to secure an India release.

Films from 92 countries and regions were eligible for the international feature shortlist, having met a “minimum screening requirement” to be eligible for voting. In the nomination round, Academy members must watch all 15 films before deciding on their nominations for the big Oscar event.

Set in a Gujarati village, Chhello Show explores the childhood innocence of a nine-year-old boy who becomes captivated by the magic of cinema over the course of a summer, inspiring him to create one of his own – unaware of the heartbreaking times that await him. The film is currently available on Netflix in the Gujarati language along with a Hindi dub.

India’s neighbor Pakistan also has an entry on the international feature shortlist — Joyland. In it, a patriarchal family’s dreams of a boy’s birth are shattered when their youngest son falls for a transgender starlet. Joyland is the first Pakistani film to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. It released in mid-November in Pakistan but is yet to land a date in India.

Here are the shortlists for international feature film, original song and documentary film in their entirety – in alphabetical order.

2023 Oscars international feature film shortlist

1. Argentina, Argentina, 1985
2. Austria, Corsage
3. Belgium, close by
4. Cambodia, back to Seoul
5. Denmark, Holy Spider
6. France, Saint Omer
7. Germany, all quiet on the Western Front
8. India, last movie show
9. Ireland, The Quiet Girl
10. Mexico, Bardo, false chronicle of a handful of truths
11. Morocco, The Blue Kaftan
12. Pakistan, Joyland
13. Poland, EO
14. South Korea, decision to leave
15. Sweden, Cairo conspiracy

2023 Oscars Music (Original Song) shortlist

1. “Time” off Amsterdam
2. “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” from Avatar: The Way of Water
3. “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
4. “This Is A Life” from Everything Everywhere At Once
5. “Ciao Papa” from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
6. “Til You Are Home” from A Man Named Otto
7. “Naatu Naatu” by RRR
8. “My Mind & Me” by Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me
9. “Good Afternoon” from Spirited
10. “Applause” from Tell It like a Woman
11. “Stand Up” from Till
12. “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick
13. “Dust & Ash” from The Voice of Dust and Ash
14. “Carolina” from Where the Crawdads Sing
15. “New Body Rhumba” by White Noise

2023 Oscars documentary shortlist

1. Everything that breathes
2. All the beauty and the bloodshed
3. Bad ax
4. Children of the Mist
5. Descendant
6. The fire of love
7. Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a journey, a song
8. Hidden letters
9. A house made of splinters
10. The Janes
11. Last flight home
12. Moonage Daydream
13. Navalny
14. Retrograde
15. The territory

The seven other 2023 Oscar shortlists announced Wednesday include documentary short, makeup and hairstyling, music (original score), animated short, live-action short, sound and visual effects. Key contenders include All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of Water, Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Don’t Worry Darling, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fabelmans, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Nope, The Banshees of Inisherin and Top Gun: Maverick. In addition, Matt Reeves’ The Batman has been nominated in three categories – visual effects, sound and makeup and hair styling.

The nominees for all other Oscars 2023 categories will be announced live on January 24, 2023.