The song Naatu Naatu from S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR has made it to the Oscars 2023 shortlist for Best Original Song, while Pan Nalin’s The Last Film Show (Chhello Show) has been shortlisted under the Best International Feature Film category for the 95th Academy Awards, 2023.

Shaunak Sen’s documentary feature All That Breathes and Kartiki Gonsalves’ short documentary The Elephant Whisperers have also been shortlisted in their respective categories.

Here’s all you need to know about the Indian films in the 2023 Oscars shortlist.

Naatu Naatu from RRR

The shortlist for the Best Original Song category is full of several earworms from blockbuster movies made this year. It includes Lift Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength) from Avatar: The Way of Water, Hold My Hand from Top Gun: Maverick, Ciao Papa from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and Carolina from Where the Crawdads Sing besides the foot-tapping dance number from RRR.

Featuring NTR Jr and Ram Charan, Naatu Naatu is a feast for the eyes and ears with adrenaline-pumping beats and an infectious energy. Composer M.M. Keeravani has stuck to old-school music for this song. The vibrancy of the song has made it a sensation worldwide.

All That Breathes

All That Breathes, directed by Shaunak Sen, is a documentary about the Kite Brothers, who run a bird hospital for black kites in New Delhi. The documentary feature explores the relationship between the brothers and the neglected kites in the backdrop of rising pollution in Delhi.

All That Breathes was shortlisted alongside All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Bad Axe, Children of the Mist, Descendant, Fire of Love, Moonage Daydream and The Territory in the Best Documentary Feature category.

The Elephant Whisperers

Directed by Kartiki Gonsalves, The Elephant Whisperers tells the story of a couple from south India, Bomman and Bellie, who have devoted their lives to caring for an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu. It is shot in the Theppakadu Elephant camp within the limits of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.

The Netflix film is a contender for the Best Documentary Short along with American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton, Anastasia, Haulout, Holding Moses, The Martha Mitchell Effect, Shut Up and Paint, Nuisance Bear and How Do You Measure a Year?

The Last Film Show

A total of 15 international feature films from 92 countries made it to the shortlist for Best International Feature Film. Apart from India’s The Last Film Show, Belgium’s Close, South Korea’s Decision to Leave, Germany’s All Quiet on the Western Front, Mexico’s Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, Argentina’s Argentina, 1985 and Pakistan’s Joyland were shortlisted in this category.