Alia Bhatt’s Gangubai Kathiawadi out of BAFTA 2023 longlist race, RRR makes the cut

The much-awaited BAFTA 2023 longlist (British Academy Film Awards) has been finally announced in 24 categories. RRR, the SS Rajamouli directorial which emerged as one of the biggest blockbusters from India in 2022, has entered the BAFTA 2023 longlist in the ‘Film not in the English language’ category. The highly exciting update was announced by the makers of RRR, with a social media post on January 6, Friday. Gangubai Kathiawadi, the Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial is, however, out of the BAFTA race.

Gangubai Kathiawadi’s intense campaign for BAFTA 2023 longlist

As per the reports, the Alia Bhatt starrer was submitted in all major categories for the BAFTA 2023 longlist, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Leading Actress. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali attended some important events in London as part of the BAFTA Awards campaign. The director delivered his first-ever BAFTA masterclass this time, where he extensively spoke about his illustrious Bollywood career. He also interacted with film students during a Q&A session. For the unversed, Bhansali had earlier received a nomination at the BAFTA awards in 2003 for his much-loved Shah Rukh Khan starrer Devdas. However, the blockbuster outing, which featured Alia Bhatt in the titular role, failed to make it into the BAFTA 2023 longlist, to the much disappointment of the cine-goers.

RRR in the BAFTA 2023 longlist

The Ram Charan–Jr NTR starrer, on the other hand, has undoubtedly created quite an impact on global platforms and has earned nominations at all prestigious film awards of 2023. “RRR” finds mention in the BAFTA longlist for a ‘film not in the English language’ category. It shares space with ”All Quiet on the Western Front”, ”Argentina, 1985”, ”Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”, ”Close”, ”Corsage”, ”Decision To Leave”, ”EO”, ”Holy Spider”, and ”The Quiet Girl,” reads the official press release published on BAFTA website, which confirms the inclusion of SS Rajamouli’s film in the longlist.

Check out the Instagram post of RRR makers below…

About RRR

The magnum opus helmed by SS Rajamouli revolves around the fictional meeting of Telugu states’ two most respected freedom fighters, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komuram Bheem. The project, which is scripted by KV Vijayendra Prasad, features Ram Charan in the role of Alluri Sitarama Raju, while Jr NTR appeared as Komuram Bheem. Alia Bhatt appeared in a special role in the movie as Alluri Sitarama Raju’s lady love Sita, while Bollywood superstar Ajay Devgn made a cameo appearance. RRR is set to get a sequel very soon.

Gangubai Kathiawadi

The biographical drama which marked the first onscreen collaboration of Alia Bhatt and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is based on a real-life character named Gangubai Kothewali, a sex worker who later emerged as a mafia queen. Alia earned immense love for her exceptional performance as the titular character Gangubai in the film, which featured Ajay Devgn in a supporting role, and a stellar star cast including Vijay Raaz, Shantanu Maheshwari, Seema Pahwa, and others in the supporting roles.