Last week, the selection of Pan Nalin’s Chhello Show as India’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards took many by surprise. It came as a blow to cinephiles who thought India would have a shot at winning the golden statuette this time with SS Rajamouli’s RRR — the magnum opus has not only been among the biggest hits of the year so far, but has also gone on to find fans in Hollywood and international markets. Vivek Agnihotri’s `The Kashmir Files`, too was said to be a frontrunner. Now, mid-day has learnt that a delegation from the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) will visit Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, soon to appeal for the reversal of the decision taken by the Film Federation of India (FFI). Additionally, the FWICE wants the nomination process of Oscar entries to be changed, recommending that the I&B Ministry play an active role in it, as it does for the National Film Awards.

RRR was said to be a frontrunner for India’s official entry