Chef Vikas Khanna's The Last Color enters Oscar contention list

The Last Color directed by chef-turned-filmmaker Vikas Khanna has entered into in the contention list for Oscar Awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has cleared the eligibility test for the film.

Mumbai: Celebrity chef-turned-filmmaker Vikas Khanna has recently submitted his debut directorial film The Last Color as an entry for Best Feature Film at the Oscars this year.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has considered it eligible for a nomination at the Oscars which means that the film stands a long shot at the coveted trophy.

The Last Color is one out of 344 films that have been considered eligible for nomination in the category this year.

This is an early list released, and it comprises entries as diverse as commercial Hollywood blockbusters such as Joker and Avengers: Endgame, to acclaimed films as The Good Liar, Jojo Rabbit and Judy, as well as critically panned fare as Cats.

According to the official website of the Oscar Awards, the list of the official nominations for Oscars 2020 will be announced on January 13, 2020.

The unit of The Last Colors, however, is overjoyed even as Khanna announced the news on Instagram.

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"The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscar) has announced the list of feature films eligible for the 2019 Academy Awards. And The Last Color is in the contention for Oscar 2019 BEST PICTURE," he wrote.

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  ~THE POWER OF PINK~ Being a Michelin Star Chef, no one takes risks like this. To start something so new in creative fields.....but some inner voice made me do it. . Just to be eligible for Oscars2020. (BEST FEATURE FILM) Just to be on this list. (Link in Bio...) Jai Ma Ganga. (Hail River Ganges)On your banks I was reincarnated & now thissss miracle. On Ganga’s banks, I wrote the story-screenplay-scenes-concept-characters-music-novel of THE LAST COLOR As she touched my feet & made me alive again & again. Singing lullabies to me at the night. Everything was a gift from the Universe. And today when I saw the list on OSCARS - “ELIGIBLE FOR THE 92ND ACADEMY AWARDS” My heart believes that this movie was made through me for some cosmic cause. Thank you @neena_gupta and everyone for believing in my story. Thank you Mama for being with me at every fall. 😍🙏🏼❤️💗

  A post shared by Vikas Khanna (@vikaskhannagroup) on Jan 1, 2020 at 5:22am PST

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  View this post on Instagram

  ~THE POWER OF PINK~ Being a Michelin Star Chef, no one takes risks like this. To start something so new in creative fields.....but some inner voice made me do it. . Just to be eligible for Oscars2020. (BEST FEATURE FILM) Just to be on this list. (Link in Bio...) Jai Ma Ganga. (Hail River Ganges)On your banks I was reincarnated & now thissss miracle. On Ganga’s banks, I wrote the story-screenplay-scenes-concept-characters-music-novel of THE LAST COLOR As she touched my feet & made me alive again & again. Singing lullabies to me at the night. Everything was a gift from the Universe. And today when I saw the list on OSCARS - “ELIGIBLE FOR THE 92ND ACADEMY AWARDS” My heart believes that this movie was made through me for some cosmic cause. Thank you @neena_gupta and everyone for believing in my story. Thank you Mama for being with me at every fall. 😍🙏🏼❤️💗

  A post shared by Vikas Khanna (@vikaskhannagroup) on Jan 1, 2020 at 5:22am PST

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  View this post on Instagram

  ~THE POWER OF PINK~ Being a Michelin Star Chef, no one takes risks like this. To start something so new in creative fields.....but some inner voice made me do it. . Just to be eligible for Oscars2020. (BEST FEATURE FILM) Just to be on this list. (Link in Bio...) Jai Ma Ganga. (Hail River Ganges)On your banks I was reincarnated & now thissss miracle. On Ganga’s banks, I wrote the story-screenplay-scenes-concept-characters-music-novel of THE LAST COLOR As she touched my feet & made me alive again & again. Singing lullabies to me at the night. Everything was a gift from the Universe. And today when I saw the list on OSCARS - “ELIGIBLE FOR THE 92ND ACADEMY AWARDS” My heart believes that this movie was made through me for some cosmic cause. Thank you @neena_gupta and everyone for believing in my story. Thank you Mama for being with me at every fall. 😍🙏🏼❤️💗

  A post shared by Vikas Khanna (@vikaskhannagroup) on Jan 1, 2020 at 5:22am PST

Actor Neena Gupta, who has a starring role in the film, tweeted: "Can't believe am soooo happy."

According to the Oscar website, for a film "to be eligible for consideration, it must open in a commercial motion picture theatre in Los Angeles County by December 31, and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days. Academy rules also require feature-length motion pictures must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format."

The Last Color may not have had a commercial release in India yet, but it was screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival last year. It also won Best Feature Film award at Dallas International Film Festival in 2018.

In India, it was screened at Mumbai Film Festival.

The 2020 Oscar Awards is scheduled to be held on February 9 at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre.