Akshay Kumar's Mission Raniganj goes to Oscars, makers submit film as independent entry

Akshay Kumar, Mission Raniganj

Akshay Kumar's Mission Raniganj is an addition to his list of real-life inspired films and biopics. It is based on a coal mine incident that took place in 1975. It also stars Parineeti Chopra. Mission Raniganj, directed by Tinu Suresh Desai, is currently running in theatres globally.

Amid Mission Raniganj's theatrical run, the film has been submitted to the Oscars. The makers sent it to the global platform independently. The Academy permits any country to send non-English films to the Oscars in two ways. The first way is the official entry which is selected by a body assigned by the Academy. In India, it is the Film Federation of India. The other way is an independent entry, which requires fulfilling certain theatrical release conditions in the US. India's official entry for the year is Tovino Thomas' survival drama, 2018, based on the Kerala floods.

In 2022, India's official entry was the Gujarati film Chhello Show. However, SS Rajamouli entered the race with his Telugu blockbuster RRR as an independent entry. The magnum opus was submitted for Best Motion Picture, Best Director (SS Rajamouli), Best Actor (Jr NTR and Ram Charan), Best Supporting Actor and Actress (Ajay Devgn and Alia Bhatt). Naatu Naatu was submitted for Best Original Song, while MM Keeravani's name was nominated by the makers for Best Original Score. The film also applied for nominations in Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, Best Film Editing and Best Makeup & Hairstyling categories.

On the occasion of National Cinema Day today, Mission Raniganj received a positive response at the box office as it reportedly sold Rs. 1.6 lakh tickets in advance. The film can be watched at Rs 99 at any theatre throughout the day.

Mission Raniganj is about mining engineer Jaswant Singh Gill who rescued 65 miners from a flooded mine in Raniganj, West Bengal. Born in 1940 in Amritsar, Gill completed his BSc (Honours) from the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, before joining Coal India Limited in 1973. Throughout his career, the Mahabir Colliery, Raniganj, West Bengal, is said to be the most significant event.

Mission Raniganj has an ensemble cast. It also includes Varun Badola, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Rajesh Sharma, Virendra Saxena, Shishir Sharma, Ananth Mahadevan, Jameel Khan, Sudhir Pandey, Bachan Pachera, Mukesh Bhatt and Omkar Das Manikpur.

The film is produced by Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani, Deepshikha Deshmukh, and Ajay Kapoor.