Priyanka, Madhuri, Ayushmann, Ali and other Bollywood celebs root for 'Bittu' as it races for Oscars

As the inaugural project of Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and Tahira Kashyap Khurrana's Indian Women Rising- Bittu commences its race for the Oscars, Bollywood celebrities give a shoutout to the heart-wrenching short film. 

This Republic Day, Indian Women Rising announced backing Karishma Dev Dube's directorial 'Bittu' which has been honoured with the 47th Student Academy Award, accentuating its run at the Oscars in the Best Short Film (Live Action) category. 

Soon after the announcement, Bollywood celebrities poured in their best wishes and extended their support by giving shout-outs to the film on social media. 

Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Ayushmann Khurrana, Dia Mirza, Ali Fazal, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sonali Bendre amongst others took to social media to praise the short film. 

Few more celebrities from Indian cinema who have supported the film are Shilpa Shetty, Rajkummar Rao, Radhika Madan, Neha Dhupia, Mukti Mohan, Aparshakti Khurrana, Shaheer Sheikh, Sayami and Ashwini Iyer Tiwari.

Following the journey of a little girl and her heartwarming bond of friendship with a fellow classmate from the village, Bittu is set against the backdrop of a tragic incident. 

The trailer of the film was released recently which garnered immense response owing to its emotionally binding storyline and realistic portrayal against the backdrop of Himalayas. 

'Bittu' has bagged the honour of the 47th 'Student Academy Award' and is now set to run the race for the Oscar for Short Film Category. The film earlier screened at several prestigious film festivals including the BFI London Film Festival, Telluride, Palm Springs Shortfest & Dharmshala Film Festival to name just a few.  

At Hollyshorts Film Festival, the director Karishma Dev Dube won the best director award.

Indian Women Rising is a Cinema Collective meant to discover, nurture and bring spotlight on the Indian female talent in cinema across the world, spearheaded by three prolific women & industry stalwarts, Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and Tahira Kashyap Khurrana. 

Backing the film as its first project under the initiative of 'Indian Women Rising', Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and Tahira Kashyap Khurrana have pledged to empower 'Bittu', a story presented by a strong team of women comprising of Karishma Dev Dube as the director, Shreya Dev Dube as the cinematographer and Mary Evangelista as the producer.