After building momentum of successfully entering into the Oscars 2021 under the category of Best International Feature Film, the campaign of the Malayalam movie 'Jallikattu' has shockingly come to an end after the movie was spelled out of the race for grabbing the global award. 

Jallikattu was the only movie from India to officially enter the Oscars 2021 but eventually, one of the reputed and much-accredited movies in India has failed to make it to the longer shortlist of fifteen films that will now race each other for the next level of lifting the global recognition. With Jallikattu's race has come to an end, India has left out with no movie to represent the country in the Oscars 2021 under the category of the Best International Feature. 

According to reports, films from 93 countries were eligible in the country, the most in Oscars history. The committee has now shortlisted 15 movies under the category of the Best International Feature Film and these movies include 'Quo Vadis, Aida?' from Bosnia and Herzegovina, 'The Mole Agent' from Chile, 'Charlatan' from the Czech Republic, 'Another Round' from Denmark, 'Two of Us' from France, 'La Llorona' from Guatemala, and 'Better Days' from Hong Kong. 

The rest of the movies include 'Sun Children' from Iran, 'Night of the Kings' from Ivory Coast, 'I'm No Longer Here' from Mexico, 'Hope' from Norway, 'Collective' from Romania, 'Dear Comrades' from Russia, 'A Sun' from Taiwan, and 'The Man Who Sold his Skin' from Tunisia. According to reports, these 15 movies will move on to the official phase one voting, which will take place on March 5 to 9. The Oscar nominations will be announced on March 15 and the show has been scheduled to take place on April 25. 

Jallikattu is one of the most celebrated Indian movies and the movie is about the tale of buffalo that is on large and the attempt of the entire village to capture it. It is an action drama film directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery while the screenplay is done by Hareesh and Jayakumar. Produced by Thomas Panicker, Jallikattu is based on the short story named Moist by Hareesh, and the movie stars Antony Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sabumon Abdusamad, and Santhy Balachandran. 

Lijo Jose has also directed critically acclaimed movies like Amen, Angamaly Diaries, and Ee. Ma. Yau. Jallikattu was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2019 and was later released in India. With a massive reception and reputation, Jallikattu had officially entered the Oscars under the category of the Best International Feature Film. However, it has failed to enter the next level of nominations.  

So far, no Indian film has won the Academy Award in the Best International Feature category. Only three films have been received a nomination - Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay (1988), and Lagaan (2001), and all three of them were Hindi. On the front of why Jallikattu was out of the Oscars, critics, and experts said that the intense promotion and marketing must have been done for entries like Jallikattu to make it to the final list of the Oscar nominations. 

The movie team must have been run a campaign to make it to the final list of nominations. The movie producers must stay in Los Angeles for at least a few months and they should have hired a publicity team, book auditoriums, and hold screenings for jury members. As part of the promotional campaign, the movie team must have promoted through American media outlets like print, radio, television, and digital. 

On the other side, while Jallikattu was out of the race, the Indian short film 'Bittu', directed by Karishma Dev Dube, has been included in the Live Action Short Film category. The film is a tale of friendship between two school-going children and has been screened at 18 film festivals around the world. Many celebrities have commended and congratulated the makers of Bittu for the huge recognition.