Pan Nalin reacts to allegations of 'Chhello Show' being a copy of 'Cinema Paradiso'

Ever since director Pan Nalin's internationally acclaimed film 'Chhello Show' (Last Film Show) was selected as India's official entry into the Oscars 2023 much has been said about the selection process. The coming-of-age movie beat the likes of SS Rajamouli's ‘RRR’ and Vivek Agnihotri's 'The Kashmir Files' to become the country's official contender in the Best Foreign Film category at the upcoming Academy Awards.Many have even claimed that the Gujarati film is allegedly a replica of the film ‘Cinema Paradiso’. Now, the director, during a recent interview, broke his silence about the criticism his film has faced so far.
Speaking to a media outlet, Pan Nalin admitted that he’s sad to see the backlash 'Chhello Show' has faced and also ruled out any possibility of the claims of ‘Chhello Show’ being a replica of ‘Cinema Paradiso’. He said that we live in an information age, and before coming up with such allegations, people should watch the movie first. He also revealed that ‘Chhello’ was shown at Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Festival, and also bagged many international awards. Nalin asks if there was any doubt about the film being a copy, could any of this international acclaim be achieved. The director added that it’s his personal story showing how he fell in love with cinema while growing up.

Pan Nalin further revealed that some of the Academy members have already watched the Gujarati film, and now they are trying to make more members watch the film.
The 95th Academy Awards are scheduled to happen in March next year.