Gully Boy Chosen As India's Official Entry To Oscars

As Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy was announced as India’s official entry to the 92nd Oscar Awards on Saturday, Ranveer Singh said the moment is a “proud” one for everyone associated with the film.

“It’s a proud moment for our entire team. I’m especially proud of and happy for Zoya! -- Gully Boy is her (Tiger) baby, and I am blessed to have been a part of her maverick vision,” said the actor who took home IIFA’s best actor trophy on Wednesday.

Ranveer also expressed his emotions towards the film which drew inspiration from the lives of Mumbai street rappers Vivian Fernandes aka Divine and Naved Shaikh aka Naezy. “Gully Boy echoed the voice of the streets. It will always be one of my most personal films. As always, I will keep striving towards making the flag of Hindi cinema fly high. I’m very happy that the passionate hard work that our cast and crew put into creating Gully Boy is reaping rewards,” said the 34-year-old actor.In the end, the actor expressed desire of making “significant mark on the world stage [Oscars]” with “the love and support of our beloved audience.” The actor also thanked the Film Federation of India and his fans in a statement he posted on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Alia who starred opposite Ranveer in the film, now wishes for it get into top five nominations and further win at the Oscars. “Now, that Gully Boy has been selected as India’s official entry for the Academy, I just hope, pray and wish that we make it to the nomination and then win”, she said in a statement.

She added, “Gully Boy as a film is really special to me. What’s even more special is that it has had such a long run - after releasing in February, it won at the Melbourne Film Festival, and then it was also screened in Japan.”

Referring to the moment of Gully Boy getting selected as India’s official for Oscars being a “big deal”, Alia also revealed how excited the entire cast and crew was after the news. “This is a first and it’s a big deal for us. As a team, we are very excited,” expressed the actor.

Also read: Gully Boy is India’s official entry to Oscars 2020: Karan Johar calls it his favourite movie of the year, says ‘get the gold statue home’

Director Zoya is elated and said, “This has been a great year and I am so overwhelmed with the response our work is getting. I am thrilled and very grateful that ‘Gully Boy’ has been picked as India’s official entry for the Oscars.”

Other than India’s official entry for Oscars, Ranveer and Alia Bhatt starrer Gully Boy has received a number of accolades including the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, South Korea; and Best Film at the Indian Festival of Melbourne in August this year.