South dominance over Bollywood, again: 5 of 9 movies ‘picked’ for Oscars are from down south

New Delhi: Last year definitely brought new heights of fame for South Indian Cinema. While the pandemic and the entry of OTT send Bollywood into clouds of uncertainty about what audiences like and what they avidly discard, South Indian cinema bloomed into new glory nationally and internationally.

Earlier, South Indian cinema as well as northern regional cinema used to live under the shadows of Bollywood. Despite coming up with an original idea, regional cinema would witness Bollywood outdoing them with remakes.

However, Kantara, RRR, Vikrant Rona, and many other movies brought a string of good fortune to the South Indian Industry, and this luck is continuing as we enter 2023. Oscars released its list of 301 films that are eligible for nominations. Out of these 301, nine films are Indian.

With non-Hindi cinema completely outperforming Bollywood movies, only The Kashmir Files and Gangubai secured a spot for Hindi language movies. In a big leap for Gujarati and Marathi cinema, The Chello show and Me Vasantro also made it to the list.

So which 5 South Indian movies made it to the eligible nomination list of the academy awards 2023?

Let’s get to the list below to know what these critically acclaimed South Indian movies were based upon:

1. Rocketry: The Nambi Effect

A scientist’s biography by R Madhavan, and also his first and last directing bid, the movie had only 1 aim- to bring the character of Nambi Narayan, an ISRO scientist who developed Vikas engine, to life.

It’s a story about how Nambi Narayan was framed with false charges of espionage and tortured when he refused to comply.

The King of Bollywood, SRK also makes a cameo appearance in the movie and he didn’t charge for it.

2. RRR

RRR, a SS Rajamouli spectacle, fictionalizes the lives of two freedom struggle revolutionaries Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju.

With its alluring action sequences, the thrilling friendship between the two leads, and the musicals, the movie takes the watcher into a whole other world. On the flip side, though, some Indian critics called RRR backward and regressive for reinforcing casteist archetypes of characters.

3. Iravin Nizhal

Many were left in awe of the technical and visual achievements of Radhakrishnan Parthiban’s Iravin Nizhal as it is the world’s first Non-Linear single-shot film.

It is the engaging story of a man who tried to redeem himself from his grim past drenched in crime and sins.

4. Kantara

Rishab Shetty’s Kantara has become the second most successful movie of the sandalwood industry. Despite critics expressing dismay about the sexist jokes and low-standard comedy, Kanatara’s wave swept over cinema grossing over 400 crores. So we will credit its success to the engaging plot executed with visually stunning cinematography.

Based upon tribal and forest issues, it is a story about how all humans are mere pawns who are pitted against one another in the battle of Nature.

5. Vikrant Rona

Anup Bhandari’s Kannada dark adventure is a mix of many genres but suspense, horror, and mystery are the primary themes.

The movie unexpectedly entered the 100-crore club in less than a week. The experimental movie revolves around Vikrant, an inspector trying to solve a grisly murder case who eventually discovers supernatural parallels in the case.

The movie successfully invokes unsettling emotions within the watcher with complementing BGM and spectacular visuals, paired with powerful acting by the lead Sudeep.