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Streaming giants like Netflix and Prime Video have made it even easier for American movies to gross huge numbers globally, and they’ve made it easier for foreign films to garner more widespread attention in the United States. The hugely popular Indian film RRR is the latest success story in that vein: It was a commercial hit in its home country and picked up steam when it was dubbed in English for distribution through Netflix in mid-2022. 

The film, an adventure epic from Indian filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli, began drawing comparisons to Parasite for its ability to attract large worldwide audiences. It was a hit at the box office and on the streaming platform for months. (For its part, Parasite won Oscars for Best Picture and Best International Film in 2020, among several others.) Despite its large fan base and commercial success, RRR hasn’t earned the attention from the Academy Awards that many think it deserves. There are a few potential reasons why, which fans and film critics have explored. 

India didn’t submit ‘RRR’ for consideration to the Academy Awards

RRR movie, Oscars 2023
Filmmaker Karan Johar (left) and ‘RRR’ director S.S. Rajamouli | Sujit Jaiswal/AFP via Getty Images

For a film to be considered in the best international feature category, the country it was created in must submit it. Each country can submit only one title for the Academy to consider, and this year there were 92 submissions from foreign countries and territories. 

India made its choice in September and submitted Last Film Show, a Gujarati-language film about a boy falling in love with the art of filmmaking. RRR — short for Rise, Roar, Revolt — is a Telugu-language historical epic about a tribal guardian tasked with rescuing a kidnapped girl from colonial authorities in 1920s Delhi. The guardian befriends an officer of the Indian Imperial Police, and their ties are tested when it becomes clear the guardian seeks to undermine the status quo. 

RRR is a three-hour adventure epic that’s a feast for the eyes: Think train collisions, a trapeze sequence under a bridge, and a wrestling match with a tiger. However, IndieWire’s critique notes that the stunning visuals don’t distract from the valuable plotline. 

1 theory is India wanted to avoid a film with a Bollywood or Tollywood feel

RRR was an unquestioned commercial success worldwide. It earned $155 million, the third-highest for an Indian film ever, THR notes. The film trended in the top 10 on Netflix for 14 weeks straight, IndieWire reports, and was the first film to trend globally for that duration, according to Variety. India’s selection, Last Film Show, grossed less than $82,000 globally and received little critical attention. It was not nominated for an Oscar. 

In a Reddit thread discussing the 2023 Academy Award nominations, one commenter thinks India’s choice might have been largely political. “The FFI [Film Federation of India] did not select a beautiful movie called Sardar Udham last year, saying that might hurt the feelings of British people when it showed one of the gruesome incidents … in occupied India,” the user writes. “Also, they said RRR is not artsy enough. So f*** FFI.”

IndieWire acknowledges a political reason but notes another theory. “India has a tendency to avoid submitting films that reflect the cultural specificity of Bollywood and Tollywood narratives, with their genre-busting exuberance and musical expressivity,” the outlet suggests. IndieWire also points out the film appears to embrace Hindu nationalism, thus making Muslims the enemy in the film and potentially causing political issues in RRR’s home country. 

‘RRR’ secured 1 Oscar nomination for the original song ‘Naatu Naatu’

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Regardless of why India didn’t submit RRR for the international film category, the movie was still eligible for nominations across the other categories, including best picture, best director, and screenplay. Variance Films president Dylan Marchetti, who promoted RRR stateside, threw significant support behind the film to garner nominations from Academy members. The international film category was just one fewer award on the table, he told IndieWire. “I don’t think RRR is the best movie from India this year,” Marchetti said. “It’s the best movie in the world this year. We’re going to conduct ourselves accordingly.”

When the nominations were announced in January, RRR fell short of fans’ expectations. The film was nominated for best original song, “Naatu Naatu,” but did not receive nominations in other categories. South Korean film fans similarly believe Decision to Leave was snubbed in the international film category. Instead, All Quiet on the Western Front is a favorite in that category and has snagged nine nominations total, including a nod for best picture. 

Though RRR isn’t the Oscars darling fans hoped it would be, it has earned 49 award wins and 125 nominations from numerous awards organizations, according to IMDb. It won Critics’ Choice Awards for best original song and best international film and a Golden Globe for best original song. It also garnered a nod for best non-English film at the Golden Globes and was recognized by multiple smaller critics’ associations. 

The 2023 Academy Awards ceremony will air on Mar. 12, 2023, at 8 p.m. EST on ABC. 

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