Pipped by Taare Zameen Par as India’s official entry for foreign-language category, Tingya will still make the trip as emotional producer vows to go all the way with film about a boy and a bull.

Critically acclaimed Marathi film 'Tingya', which lost out to Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par in the race to be India’s official entry into the foreign language category at the 81st Academy Awards, will now be sent to the Oscars as an independent entry.

Tingya, directed by debutant director Mangesh Hadawale, is a film about an emotional love story between a bull and a boy, set in the backdrop of Maharashtra’s agrarian crisis. The film has won several accolades at both national and international film festivals. The producer of the film, Ravi Rai, said he will pitch the film independently to the Academy. “This is a very emotional move for me. I have sailed with the film when no one was there to back it. Today, the film has reached this level so we want it to go a little further,” Rai said.

He candidly added that he doesn’t know the road ahead on how to go about pitching the film as an independent entrant. “There are a lot of things I’m not aware of on how to go about the independent entry submissions I’ll figure it out in a week’s time,” he said.

For a film which was rejected by 42 producers, the remarkable journey of bagging 37 awards globally has been a phenomenal achievement, Rai said.

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