PS Vinothraj's Koozhangal is India's official entry to Oscars

PS Vinothraj's debut feature Koozhangal, also known by its English title Pebbles, will represent India in the best international feature category at the Oscars this year.

Proud co-producer Vignesh Shivn, made the announcement today. The filmmaker, along with actress Nayanthara, has been backing the Tamil feature film.

The Tamil drama, starring Karuththadaiyaan and Chellapandi, won the Tiger Award at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam where it was premiered earlier this year. The feature is a stark story about a father and son journeying across a bleak, arid landscape to reunite with the boy's mother.

Filmmaker Shaji N Karun was the chairperson of the 15-member selection committee set up by the Film Federation of India that made the unanimous decision. Koozhangal was up against 14 other films that were shortlisted for the Oscars; these included the Hindi films Sherni (2021) and Sardar Udham (2021), which was premiered on Amazon Prime, the Tamil satire Mandela (2021) and the Malayalam thriller Nayattu (2021).

The 94th Academy Awards will be held on 27 March 2022, in Los Angeles, California.