India selects Marathi film 'Court' as Oscars submission

India has selected Marathi film Court as its submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 88th Academy Awards in February next year.

Court is the debut film of director Chaitanya Tamhane, who has criticised the Indian justice system in this courtroom drama.

In the film, an ageing folk singer is tried in court on charges of abetment of suicide of a sewerage worker. He is accused of performing an inflammatory song, which might have incited the worker to commit the act. As the trial unfolds, the personal lives of the lawyers and the judge involved in the case are observed outside the court.

Three Indian films have made it to the final nominations of the Academy’s Best Foreign Language film so far: Mother India (1958), Salaam Bombay (1988) and Lagaan (2001).

The final nominations will be announced on January 14, 2016.