There has been a stir on social media ever since the Academy announced the shortlisted films to advance in the Oscar race. While Missing Ladies, which was India’s official entry, did not place, the Hindi-language film Santosh representing the UK has advanced in the competition. This has sparked debate over the selection of films that India sends to the Oscars every year. Actress Shahana Goswami, who plays the lead role in Sandhya Suri’s film, spoke exclusively to India Today Digital, reacting to the noise surrounding Missing Ladies’ exit.

The actor was asked about the conversation regarding the Film Federation of India’s decision to choose the Kiran Rao directorial over Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light, which is winning international accolades. He said, “To be honest, I don’t know how the films are selected. I think it is the NFDC (National Film Development Corporation) that takes the decision, but I don’t know what the criteria are or even “There is no application process. So, I don’t think I can comment on the official entry selection process.”

Discussing social media noise, the actor said that it is part of how we are as humans, where we need to comment on everything. “When the film was chosen as India’s selection, everyone was very happy. Also, I think The Missing Ladies has done brilliantly. It may have had a slow run in the theatres, but when it When it was released on OTT, it created a stir.” I haven’t seen it yet, but as far as I know, it deals with various topics and issues with an element of humor, I think all these conversations are just comments from the media and people.”

Shahana Goswami said that if Missing Ladies had made the cut and Santosh had not, the conversation would have been different. “The winds may have changed. But the truth is that these things are very abstract. If someone asked me why Santosh was shortlisted, we would not know. However, we are all grateful that we went a step ahead. But It doesn’t take away from the journey of others. Another short film, Anuja, has been shortlisted, so is the fact that South Asian women and their work are being represented and talked about globally, though. We don’t need it when validating our work To have a platform like this, it’s amazing, because now more people will see our films, so it’s a big win so far for The Missing Ladies.”

The actor also thanked the Academy members for watching his film and voting for it. He told how many people contacted the team saying how much they liked the film. Shahana said that coming this far is a victory in itself but she believes that Santosh can go ahead and win an Oscar as well.

PVR Pictures is bringing Santosh to India next month.