EXCLUSIVE| FFI President denies Veer Savarkar's makers' claim that film is ‘officially’ submitted to Oscars

There seems to be confusion surrounding Randeep Hooda-directed biopic Swatantrya Veer Savarkar and its submission for the Oscars. On Tuesday morning, the makers caused a stir when they announced on Instagram that the film had been "officially submitted for Oscars." The post, which thanked the Film Federation of India (FFI) for the "remarkable appreciation," led many to believe that Swatantrya Veer Savarkar was India’s official entry for the Academy Awards.

However, the FFI had already announced on Monday that Laapataa Ladies was India's official submission to the Oscars this year.

In response to the confusion, HT City reached out to Ravi Kottakara, FFI President, who laughed when told about the claim. He clarified, "They (the makers of Savarkar) have given some wrong communication. I am going to release a statement about it as well. Only Laapataa Ladies has been sent for Oscars from India officially."

When contacted, Anand Pandit, a co-producer of the film, insisted that the film had indeed been submitted by the FFI. “I didn’t know when the film was submitted; I was told about it on Monday. Going to the Oscars is a big milestone. I am, of course, very happy,” he said.

Interestingly, the film being “officially” submitted to the Oscars promotion on Instagram was a collaborative post involving actor Ankita Lokhande, who stars in the film, co-producer Sandeep Singh, and the production houses that backed the project. However, Randeep Hooda, the film's director and lead actor, did not share any updates on his social media.

We tried to reach out to Hooda, but he was unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, a source close to the situation commented saying, "This is very shady. Even a quote attributed to Randeep (Hooda) was given out in press releases when he has not given a quote."