Oscars 2025: THIS Hindi film shortlisted after India's official entry Laapataa Ladies fails to make it

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on Wednesday unveiled the names of the projects that are eligible for the Oscars 2025 race.

Santosh, a Hindi-language international co-production set in rural north India, has found a spot in the 'Best International Feature Film' category. A total of 15 films have been selected for the Oscar shortlist in this category out of 85 total films submitted by countries all around the world.

The film was sent by the United Kingdom as their official submission for the Academy Awards 2025. The movie also premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in May 2024, and was well-received by critics. Reacting to this "little glory", Shahana took to Instagram and expressed her happiness.

"So happy for the team especially our writer-director Sandhya Suri for this little glory of recognition for our film Santosh! How incredible to be shortlisted from amongst 85 films. Thank you to everyone who loved it, supported it and voted for it," she wrote.

Directed by Sandhya Suri, the film stars Shahana as a driven young Hindu widow who inherits her husband's job as a police constable thanks to a government scheme. She finds herself caught up in institutional corruption even as she warms to working with rough-edged veteran detective Inspector Sharma (Sunita Rajwar) on a brutal murder case involving a teenage girl from the lower caste Dalit community, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

The films that progressed to the next round in the International Feature category are the following: Armand from Norway, Dahomey from Senegal, Emilia Perez from France, Flow from Latvia, From Ground Zero from Palestine, The Girl With the Needle from Denmark, How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies from Thailand, I'm Still Here from Brazil, Kneecap from Ireland, Santosh from United Kingdom, The Seed of the Sacred Fig from Germany, Touch from Iceland, Universal Language from Canada, Waves from Czech Republic, Vermiglio from Italy. The list includes films that are officially eligible to compete in various categories.

 However, it does not guarantee that these films will advance in the final nominations for the Academy Awards. Oscar voting to determine the nominees in all 23 categories will start on Wednesday, January 8, and it will end on Sunday, January 12. Nominations will be announced on Friday, January 17.