In a major milestone for regional Indian cinema, Marathi feature film Dashavatar, which stars Dilip Prabhavalkar, Priyadarshini Indalkar, Sidhharth Menon, Mahesh Manjrekar among others, has been officially selected in the Oscar Contention List for the upcoming Academy Awards. The selection places the film among a highly exclusive group of global titles being considered for the world’s most prestigious film honour.The Oscar Contention List is curated from over 2,000 films submitted worldwide, out of which only approximately 150–250 films are selected across categories. Making it to this list marks the first formal step into the Academy Awards evaluation process, placing Dashavatar in direct contention alongside international prestige cinema.
First Marathi film in the general Oscar category
Dashavatar has achieved a historic first by becoming the first-ever Marathi film to be selected in the general Oscar category—a space traditionally dominated by global studios and internationally backed productions. The achievement marks a significant breakthrough for Marathi cinema, which has largely remained underrepresented at this level of global recognition.
First Marathi film in the Academy Screener Room
The film has also become the first Marathi feature to be screened on the Academy Screener Room, the official Oscars viewing platform used by Academy members for evaluation and voting. This places Dashavatar directly within the formal Oscars viewing ecosystem, a crucial step that significantly elevates its visibility among international voters.
One of only two Indian films in contention this year
As of now, Dashavatar is only the second Indian film to be included in the Oscar Contention List this year. The only other Indian title currently part of the list is Homebound. While more Indian films may be announced in the coming days, Dashavatar presently stands as the sole Marathi representative and one of just two Indian films in contention.
