Director Vinothraj P S on Koozhangal’s entry to Oscars: ‘Focused on making an honest and simple film’

Debutant filmmaker Vinothraj P S is in a surreal moment to have his first film Koozhangal selected as India’s Oscar entry at the 94th Academy Awards next year. 

The Tamil language drama revolving around an alcoholic abusive husband, also won the Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in February 2021. 

Sharing his excitement with PTI, the director said the team’s efforts are being paid off now. They didn’t have high expectations for the film, but they only wanted to make a feature that was honest and simple. 

The film has also travelled through various International film galas like Shanghai International Film Festival, and Indian Film Festival at Los Angeles. Koozhangal’s success of being a festival favourite, and finally being the Oscar entry, has left the whole team so overwhelmed that the director conveyed his gratitude towards the jury and the audience on their behalf. 

Featuring debutant actors Chellapandi and Karuththadaiyaan, Koozhangal is about a father travelling along with his son to bring his wife back home. 

Named Pebbles in English, the film was announced as India’s official entry at the Oscars in the international feature category, on Saturday. 

It is also to be noted that Koozhangal got its entry after competing with India’s most-discussed films including Sardar Udham (Hindi), Nayattu (Malayalam) and Mandela (Tamil).

Vinothraj also revealed that the movie is inspired from his personal experiences, as one of his sisters was chased by her husband for 14km after a quarrel. He added that people’s frustration about their living conditions and patriarchal norms are some of the many things he intended to address through his work. 

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On an ending note, the director said that they are looking forward to releasing the movie in theatres, as they should be able to pave a way for other such films as well.