Suriya’s Jai Bhim and Mohanlal’s Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham make it to Oscars 2022 long list

Two Indian films–Suriya-starrer Jai Bhim and Mohanlal’s Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham–have officially been included in the long list of films eligible for the Oscars 2022.

On Thursday night, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which conducts the Academy Awards (also known as the Oscars), released the list of 276 films eligible for the awards this year. Tamil drama Jai Bhim and Malayalam action-adventure film Marakkar are the only two Indian feature films on the list.

As per reports, the voting for all the movies eligible for the 94th Academy Awards will begin on January 27 and end later that week. The final nominations across categories will be announced on February 8. The award ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on March 27.

According to a report in Variety, the number of eligible films for the awards is down from last year, when 366 films had made the cut. This was because the Academy had extended the eligibility period till the end of February due to the pandemic. As a result, the eligibility period this year is from March 1 to December 31, 2021.

The production company of Jai Bhim celebrated the inclusion with a tweet informing about the film’s Oscar hopes. “Into the #Oscars race! #JaiBhim makes it into the 276 films shortlisted by @TheAcademy for the 94th Academy Award nominations,” read the tweet from 2D Entertainment’s official account. Last week, one of the scenes from the film had made it to the Oscars library, making it the first such instance for a Tamil film.

Jai Bhim is a legal drama based on a true incident from 1993 involving a case fought by Justice K Chandru. Suriya plays the lead role in the critically-acclaimed film, which also features Lijomol Jose, Manikandan and Prakash Raj.

Malayalam film Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham (Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea) is a period war film based on the exploits of the fourth Kunjali Marakkar, who was the admiral of the fleet of Zamorin in the 16th century. The film won three National Awards, including the Best Feature Film at the 67th National Awards last year.

Also read: Scene from Suriya’s Jai Bhim make it to Oscars’ library, first Tamil film to earn this honour. Watch

Only three Indian feature films have ever been nominated for on Oscar–Mother India, Salaam Bombay, and Lagaan. A number of Indian filmmaker Ismail Merchant’s English-language films have earned nominations as well, while Asif Kapadia’s documentary Amy won the award for Best Documentary Feature in 2013.

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