Vicky Kaushal Starring ‘Sardar Udham’ Rejected for Oscar Entry Because It “Projects Our Hatred Towards the British”

Beating Vicky Kaushal starring ‘Sardar Udham’ and Vidya Balan starring ‘Sherni’, Tamil film ‘Koozhangal’ has been selected as India’s official entry for the Academy Awards 2022, popularly known as Oscar.

Sardar Udham, which was released on video streaming platform Amazon Prime, is based on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919. 

Explaining the reason why ‘Sardar Udham’ was not selected for India’s official entry in Oscar, Indraadip Dasgupta, one of the jury members, said, “Sardar Udham is a well-made production with brilliant cinematography that lives up to international standards. But it is a little lengthy and harps on the Jallianwala Bagh incident."

He added “It is an honest effort to make a lavish film on an unsung hero of the Indian freedom struggle. But in the process, it again projects our hatred towards the British. In this era of globalization, it is not fair to hold on to this hatred. Koozhangal, in contrast, is a truly Indian film with a global appeal. It has no agenda attached to it. It is the most honest film among all the contenders.”

The decision was announced in Kolkata on Saturday (October 23) by director Shaji N. Karun who chaired the jury. The other members of the jury are Ananya Chatterjee, Indraadip Dasgupta, Arghyakamal Mitra, Ruma Sengupta, Sumit Basu, Pampally, AVM K Shanmugam, P Sukumar, Naganna, G Bhageeradha, Vipul Mehta, Ravindra Jadhav, Umamaheshwar Rao and Navaniat Singh.

The 94th Academy Awards, popularly known as Oscar, will be held in person on March 24, 2022, in Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre.

Koozhangal (Pebbles), directed by PS Vinothraj and produced by Nayanthara & Vignesh Shivan, tells the story of a young kid and how his relationship with his drunken father drives him closer to his mother. The film has been praised at multiple film festivals.

On the fateful day April 13, 1919, thousands had gathered peacefully in the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar to protest against the British aggression against the nationalists.

Brigadier REH Dyer ordered his troops to surround the Jallianwala Bagh and open fire on peaceful unarmed protesters. Thousands of people died, including young children and women.

Michael O’Dwyer was the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab at the time of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

This incident changed Udham Singh forever. He pledged to work for freedom till his last breath.

In 1940 in Britain, Udham Singh assassinated O’Dwyer. The story of movie Sardar Udham revolves around this.

Rabindranath Tagore was so shocked and angry that he renounced his knighthood saying "such mass murderers aren't worthy of giving any title to anyone".

REH Dyer died of strokes at the age of 62 in England.