What RRR needs to do to stay in contention for Oscars
Last updated: 11 Nov 2022
The Film Federation of India snubbed RRR, currently the most popular Indian film globally, and instead chose to nominate Gujarati film Chello Show as the country’s official submission for a Best International Feature Film nomination at the 95th Academy Awards. The decision was a blow to RRR‘s chances of winning the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, however Variance Films, the USA distributors of the film, have submitted the film to the Academy Screening Room for consideration under all the categories
In order to stay in contention for the 95th Academy Awards, the makers of RRR need to do the following:
Continue arranging special screenings in the USA and further increase the buzz around the film
The Hindi-dubbed version of RRR dominated the Netflix Global Top 10 non-English films chart for 15 consecutive weeks during which the film racked up over 71 million total viewing hours and won appreciation from several Hollywood filmmakers and critics.
The film was screened at the Toronto international film festival followed by another screening at IFC Centre, New York with the director S.S.Rajamouli in attendance. The tickets for the special screening at TCL Chinese Theatre – IMAX followed by Q & A session with Rajamouli as part of Beyond Fest 2022 were sold out within minutes of the announcement.
With less than two months to go for the Oscars shortlists announcement (scheduled on 21 December 2022), RRR makers are planning to arrange more special screenings of the film for Academy members.
Get nominated for Critics Choice Awards
The Critics Choice Awards are considered to be a key indicator of success at the Academy Awards. RRR is among the films recommended in Critics Choice Daily.
The next Critics Choice Awards is scheduled to be held on 15 January 2023 and RRR is expected to be in contention for a nomination in the following categories:
- Best Foreign Language Film
- Best Director (S. S. Rajamouli)
- Best Acting Ensemble (Ram Charan, N.T. Rama Rao Jr, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody, Olivia Morris and Shriya Saran)
- Best Original Screenplay (V. Vijayendra Prasad and S. S. Rajamouli)
The film needs to win in one or more of the above categories in order to increase its likelihood of winning an Oscar.
Get nominated for Golden Globes
The annual Golden Globes event is scheduled to be held on 10 January 2023 and the nominations will be announced on 12 December 2022.
RRR will be aiming for a nomination under the below categories:
- Best Picture – Non-English Language
- Best Director (S. S. Rajamouli)
- Best Screenplay (V. Vijayendra Prasad and S. S. Rajamouli)
A Golden Globe nomination or win is likely to further boost the buzz around RRR and foreshadow an Academy Award nomination for the film.
Get nominated for BAFTA
The 76th British Academy Film Awards will take place in London on 19 February 2023 and the nominations will be declared on 19 January 2023.
RRR has been successful at the UK box office (lifetime gross: £977,000) and is expected to land a nomination in the following categories:
- Best Film
- Best Direction (S. S. Rajamouli)
- Best Original Screenplay (V. Vijayendra Prasad and S. S. Rajamouli)
- Best Film Not in the English Language
Past Indian productions/co-productions that got nominated for the BAFTA Award for the Best Film Not in the English Language include The Lunchbox (2013), Rang De Basanti (2006), Devdas (2002), The Warrior (2001), Monsoon Wedding (2001) and Salaam Bombay! (1988) but none of them have won the coveted award. RRR may break that jinx.
Get nominated for Academy Awards
The 95th Academy Awards is scheduled to take place on 12 March 2023. The shortlists will be announced on 21 December 2022 and the nominations will be announced on 24 January 2023. The makers of RRR have confirmed that they are aiming for a nomination for the film in several categories as mentioned at the beginning of this article, but realistically the film has the potential to land a nomination only in the below categories and the likelihood of that nomination is correlated to its performance at the predecessor award events.
- Best Picture
- Best Director (S. S. Rajamouli)
- Best Original Screenplay (V. Vijayendra Prasad and S. S. Rajamouli)
In addition, RRR could also spring a surprise by securing a nomination for Best Costume Design (Rama Rajamouli) and Best Production Design (Sabu Cyril).