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.

On the Film Federation of India jury’s decision to choose Taare Zameen Par, Rai made it amply clear that he had no feeling of “being cheated”. “My reaction was nothing like I was cheated or anything of that sort. Fortunately, unlike last year, this year’s films were very competent, making it difficult for the jury to take a pick,” he said.

Interestingly, Taare Zameen Par was Rai’s own personal favourite. “Taare remains my favourite and I’m genuinely very happy for them as they deserve to be there. It’s indeed very pleasing to see a star as big as Aamir Khan coming out to make a film on dyslexia, which even I was unaware of till I watched the movie,” he said.

Earlier, Shwaas, directed by another debutant director debutant Sandeep Sawant, was India’s official entry to the 2004 Oscars and was ranked 6th at the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. It is widely agreed that films like Shwaas and Tingyahave been instrumental in reviving Marathi cinema, attracting not only Maharashtian audiences but others too.

According to Rai, the jury debated over two hours on the final two films on the list — Taare Zameen Par and Tingya. “What I learnt from those who were witness to the discussions is that every aspect of the two films was discussed and debated in great detail by the jury members, including the child artistes,” he said. Ultimately, Tingya lost on grounds of “technical finesse”.

Asked about the losing factor, he said: “I don’t want to get into it¿there is bound to be a difference between a Rs 27-lakh film and Rs 50-crore film.”

Ironically, Tingya pipped Taare Zameen Par and Shahrukh Khan-starrer Chak De India at the MAMI International Film Festival’s awards. Rai also plans to screen the film for President Pratibha Patil in the coming week.

However, Rai admitted there was no support from the Government of Maharashtra even for a film in Marathi that depicts the condition of the state.

Jittery about the way forward, he said: “Don’t know what will happen, but what’s important is that the honour should come to India.”