US film scribe's tweet boosts hopes of 'Jai Bhim' making it to Oscar nominations

A tweet by Rotten Tomatoes editor Jacqueline Coley has raised hopes that director Tha Se Gnanavel's critically-acclaimed Tamil courtroom drama 'Jai Bhim', featuring actor Suriya, may make it to the nominations of the 94th Academy Awards that are expected to be announced later on Tuesday.

With just hours to go before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces its list of Oscar nominations, New York Times Awards Season Columnist Kyle Buchanan tweeted a question to Jacqueline Coley. He asked her, "Which Oscar nomination could provoke the biggest reaction from you tomorrow morning?"

Responding to the question, Coley said, "'Jai Bhim' for Best Picture. Trust me on this one."

Coley's reply has triggered huge excitement in the Tamil film industry circles with Rajasekar Karpoorasundarapandian, the co-producer of 'Jai Bhim', responding to Coley's tweet.

Quoting Coley's tweet, Rajasekar said, "Thank you, this means a lot to us!"

Apart from 'Jai Bhim', Priyadarshan's Malayalam period drama 'Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham' ('Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea'), featuring Mohanlal in the lead, is also on the list of 276 movies eligible for this year's Academy Awards.

The voting for Oscar nominations, which began on January 27, continued until February 1. Nominations for the 94th Academy Awards are be announced on Tuesday, February 8.

The ceremony is scheduled to be held on Sunday, March 27, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and will be televised on the American network ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.