Rajkummar Rao-starrer Newton is India's Official Entry For Oscars

Rajkummar Rao and Anjali Patil-starrer Newton has been selected as India’s official entry for the Best Foreign language category at the Oscars, the Film Federation of India announced on Friday.

Actor Rajkummar, who plays the lead in the political satire, took to Twitter to share the big news, which coincides with the film’s commercial release.

“Very happy to share this news that #NEWTON is India's official entry to the #OSCARS this year. Congratulations team," his tweet read.

Trade analyst Ramesh Bala shared a copy of the announcement made by the Film Federation of India on Twitter.

“An eminent 14 member jury, constituted by Film Federation of India comprising an eclectic mix of film professionals from various crafts and languages under the astute chairmanship of eminent film personality CV Reddy selected the Hindi film Newton to represent India at the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Film Category," the FFI announcement read.

In a recent interview to Scroll, CV Reddy explained how Newton managed to impress everyone in the committee.

“Newton was chosen unanimously by the committee out of 26 entries. Everyone in the committee liked it," Reddy was quoted as saying by Scroll.

Newton will be pitted against Ruben Ostlund’s The Square, Fatih Akin’s In the Fade from Germany, Angelina Jolie’s First They Killed My Father from Cambodia, Sebastian Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman from Chile, Farhan Alam’s Sawan from Pakistan and Robin Campillo’s BPM: Beats Per Minute from France, among other films.

In an exclusive interaction with News18.com, Pankaj Tripathi lauded the jury's decision. “Newton is a deserving film as it truly represents India. It’s a victory of talent. Hum actors, filmmakers chupke se jungle mei jaake, kam suvidhao meim humne film bana daali aur luckily aaj box office mei aayi hai," he said.

In the movie, Rajkummar essays the role of Newton Kumar, a presiding officer who wants to hold free elections in a Chhattisgarh village. He combats the Naxal threat and uses sarcasm to achieve his goal.

Produced by Drishyam Films and distributed by Eros Entertainment, the film also features Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil and Raghubir Yadav.

Newton had bagged several international awards, including the Art Cinema Award for the Forum section at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere.

The 90th Academy Awards will be held on March 4 next year in Los Angeles.