'Dam999' in the Oscar race for Best Picture award

Dam999, featuring Indian actors and directed by the Indian naval architect Sohan Roy, has made it to the shortlist of films running for Oscars 2012.

Starring Aashish Vidyarthi, Rajit Kapoor, Joshua Fredric Smith, Vinay Rai and Vimala Raman, the film is about the aftermath of the collapse of an old dam and has been banned in Tamil Nadu because it sparked a row between TN and Kerala over the Mullaperiyar Dam. However, recognition has come from an unexpected quarter as Dam999 has made it to the 265 films that have been shortlisted for The Academy Awards to be held on February 26.

But it’s still a very long way for the film to make it to the final nominees for Best Motion Picture.

Not just the film, its songs are also in the Oscar race.

According to a press release from Warner Bros, the distributors of the film in India, three of the songs from Dam999, including the theme song Mujhe Chodke and Dakkanaga, are among the 39 songs shortlisted under the Best Original Song category. All three songs have been written by Roy himself, and set to tune by Ousephachan.

The coming weeks will see the Oscar list shortlisted further and the final nominees will be announced on January 24, 2012.

By the way, Dam999 is not India’s official entry to Oscars. Malayalam film Adaminte Makan Abu is India’s official entry.