By Shishir Prashant 
PrshantNews
‘Dhurandhar’ directed by Aditya Dhar has been selected as the opening feature film of Indian Panorama 2026, while ‘Becoming’ (Ladakhi), directed by Leena Yadav, will be the opening non-feature film at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) which will be held at Panaji, Goa, from 20th to 28th November 2026.
Vishal Chaturvedi’s Hanuman Ansh, one of the biggest low budget success stories, will also be shown in the Best Debut Director category.
A total of 25 feature films, including five in the Mainstream Cinema section, and 20 non-feature films have been selected for Indian Panorama 2026, showcasing the diversity of contemporary Indian cinema across languages and filmmaking styles.
The feature films have been selected from 404 entries, while the non-feature film package was shortlisted from 358 entries, taking the total number of submissions considered to 762.
The feature-film jury, comprising 12 members and headed by National Film Award-winning filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, selected 20 films for the Indian Panorama Feature Film section and five for the Mainstream Cinema section.
The selections include films in Hindi, Gujarati, Ladakhi, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Nyishi, Telugu, Kannada, Tulu, Assamese and Malayalam, reflecting the linguistic and cultural diversity of Indian filmmaking.
Apart from ‘Dhurandhar’, the Mainstream Cinema section includes ‘Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1’ (Kannada), directed by Rishab Shetty; ‘Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu’ (Telugu), directed by Anil Ravipudi; ‘Baapya’ (Marathi), directed by Samir Tewari; and ‘Deool Band 2’ (Marathi), directed by Pravin Vitthal Tarde.
The Feature Film Jury has also nominated five films for the Best Debut Director of Indian Feature Film Award. These are ‘Chennai Love Story’ (Telugu), ‘Pratyabartan’ (Bengali), ‘Tighi’ (Marathi), ‘Sledge’ (Kashmiri) and ‘Hanuman Ansh’ (Hindi).
The non-feature film jury, headed by filmmaker and educationist Himanshu Sekhar Khatua, comprised six members. Its 20 selections include documentaries and other non-feature productions in Hindi, Ladakhi, Kannada, Assamese, Telugu, English, Marathi, Kashmiri, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali.
Introduced in 1978 under the umbrella of IFFI, Indian Panorama aims to promote Indian cinema and showcase films of cinematic, thematic and aesthetic excellence. Selected films are also considered for screenings at international film festivals, Indian Film Weeks abroad and special film festivals in India.