Chhello Show director Pan Nalin reveals he was threatened after film's selection at Oscars 2023: 'The cyber attack was worst'

Filmmaker Pan Nalin's Gujarati film Chhello Show (Last Film Show) has been shortlisted in the Best International Feature Film category at the 95th Academy Awards. Recently, Pan Nalin has revealed that he was threatened after the film's selection for Oscars.

In an interview with MidDay, he revealed his team was threatened with warnings that they will face consequences if they don't pull out of the Oscars. He added that they faced 'baseless allegations and trolling'.

Pan Nalin stated that the 'cyber attack' prior to the film's release was 'worst'. "'Oscars mein se film nikaal, nahi toh achcha nahin hoga'. Instead of celebrating and campaigning in the US, we were busy fighting this [vitriol] for three to four weeks," he said.

Netizens were initially upset that SS Rajamouli’s RRR was not chosen as India’s official submission. However, the filmmaker said that when people started watching the film in theatres, their opinion changed. He said during the same interview, "When the Indian audience, film critics and industry folks watched the movie, they could not stop themselves from falling in love with it. In the end, the power of cinema won."

RRR song Naatu Naatu shortlisted for Oscars

The song Nattu Nattu from RRR has been shortlisted for Oscars 2023 in the best song category. It is among the 15 songs which have been selected out of 81 in total.

About Chhello Show

The film stars Bhavin Rabari, Bhavesh Shrimali, Richa Meena, Dipen Raval and Paresh Mehta. It premiered at the 20th Tribeca Film Festival on June 10, 2021, and was theatrically released in India on October 14, 2022.

The plot of the film revolves around a nine-year-old Samay (Bhavin) from Chalala, a village in Saurashtra, who spends an entire summer watching films, from the projection booth of a rundown movie place by bribing the projectionist. He is mesmerised by films and filmmaking, to the point that he decides to become a filmmaker, unaware of the heartbreaking times that await him.