The National award-winning film, directed by Salim Ahamed, is a family drama about an elderly Muslim couple and their struggle to go on a pilgrimage to Haj. The movie was among 63 entries eligible entries screened by the Oscar committee in the first phase.
As of now, nine movies including "Bullhead" (Belgium), "Monsieur Lazhar" (Canada), "Superclásico" (Denmark), "Pina" (Germany), "Footnote" (Israel), "Omar Killed Me" (Morocco), "In Darkness" (Poland) and "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" (Taiwan) are among the shortlisted entries, said a press statement on the official Oscar website.
These will be further winnowed down to the five nominees by specially invited committees in New York and Los Angeles. Over the weekend, the committee will review the films again and cast their ballots.
India’s only remaining hope at this year’s Academy Awards is now Sohan Roy’s "DAM 999", which tells the tale of a cracking dam built during colonial rule and revolves around nine characters and their emotions. The lives of all the nine characters revolve around the central edifice – the pressure-mounted dam.
It featured among the 265 films contending for the Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. Also, three of its songs were among the 39 shortlisted for nominations in the Original Song category for the 84th Academy Awards.
The three songs from the film that are vying to be in the final nomination list include "Dakkanaga Dugu Dugu", "DAM999 Theme Song" and "Mujhe Chhod Ke".
But whether the film or any of its songs appear in the final nomination list, will only be revealed when the final nominations will be announced Jan 24, 2012, in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre.
The final Oscar awards presentation ceremony will take place Feb 26 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.
