India's Oscar entry Gondhal to preview in Hyderabad and five other cities from October 9

Gondhal, the Marathi psychological thriller picked as India's official entry for the 99th Academy Awards, is heading to theatres through a round of exclusive preview shows. The makers announced on Friday that the previews start on October 9 and will cover six cities, with Hyderabad on the list.

Santosh Davakhar wrote and directed the film. Besides Hyderabad, the previews will run in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru. Mumbai and Pune go first on October 9, with four theatres in each city, and the other cities follow. These early shows will play in Marathi and Hindi.

After the previews, a bigger rollout is planned in India and overseas. The film will be released in six languages: Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. That means Telugu audiences will get to watch it in their own language. The makers have not yet given a date for this wider release.

The story is set around Gondhal, a traditional ritual from rural Maharashtra that brings together music, dance and mythology. At its centre is a newly married couple. The official synopsis describes Suman, a young bride who feels trapped, using her lover Sarjerao's obsession with the ritual to turn a sacred tradition into a deadly game of moves and countermoves. Ishita Deshmukh, Kishor Kadam and Yogesh Sohoni play key roles.

Davakhar said the previews mean more to the team than just early shows. He described them as a way to take the film back to the people it was always made for, since watching it in a theatre was central to the whole idea. He called Gondhal a story rooted in the culture of Maharashtra, and said its mood, sound and visuals are best felt together with a crowd in a hall.

The director added that after the honour of representing India at the Oscars, opening the film up to audiences feels especially meaningful. He hopes viewers walk in with an open mind and let the story, its culture and its psychological journey do the talking.