New Delhi: Hindi film ‘Liar’s Dice’, a road drama about a tribal woman’s journey to find her missing husband, has been selected as India’s official entry to the upcoming Academy awards in the best foreign film category.
Directed by Geetu Mohandas and starring Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in lead roles, ‘Liar’s Dice’ beat 29 other films to represent India at the Oscars 2015, Supran Sen, Secretary General of the Film Federation of India (FFI) said.
Sen said FFI, which nominates the Oscar entry from India every year, had received a record submission of 30 films.
Set in a village near the Indo-Tibetan border, the film’s story follows a young tribal woman whose husband has failed to return home after leaving to work in Delhi many months ago.
She decides to go to Delhi with her young daughter to search for him and on the way meets an Army deserter, Siddiqui, who realising the perils of the journey ahead for them, decides to accompany them to their destination.
’Liar’s Dice’, Mohandas’ feature debut, was critically acclaimed in the festival circuits. It was selected at the Sundance Film Festival and International Film Festival Rotterdam.
The film won the National award for best actress to Thapa and best cinematography award to Mohandas’ cinematographer husband Rajeev Ravi.
India has never won an Oscar in the best foreign film category. The last Indian film that made it to the final five nominees at the Oscars was Ashutosh Gowariker’s ‘Lagaan’.
’Mother India’ and ‘Salaam Bombay’ are the only other two Indian films to have made it to the top five.
The 87th Academy awards will take place on February 22, 2015.