<p>There were no Indian hopefuls left in this year's Oscar race after Indian musician AR Rahman's ouster and American director Gregg Helvey's 'Kavi' a short film about a young Indian boy trapped by child labour, too lost out in the 'Short Film (Live Action)' category, to Danish drama 'The Last Tenants'.<br /><br />The 19-minute-long Hindi fiction film, was shot in Mumbai with an Indian cast and producers.<br />Rahman, who had clinched two trophies for his compositions in 'Slumdog..' last year, had been long-listed in the 'Best Original Song' category for his score 'Na Na' from his Hollywood debut venture "Couple's Retreat", but failed to get a nomination.<br /><br />While Rahman's foot tapping number 'Jai Ho' won last year, this time the award went to the song 'The Weary Kind' from 'Crazy Heart'.Last year, the India story dominated the Academy Awards with three films, 'Slumdog ', director Danny Boyle's potboiler set in the underbelly of Mumbai's crime and poverty and two documentaries 'The Final Inch' and 'Smile Pinki'.<br />'Smile Pinki', a 37-minute documentary by American director Megan Mylan about a young Indian girl ostracised because of her cleft lip, had went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) last year. <br /></p>
<p>There were no Indian hopefuls left in this year's Oscar race after Indian musician AR Rahman's ouster and American director Gregg Helvey's 'Kavi' a short film about a young Indian boy trapped by child labour, too lost out in the 'Short Film (Live Action)' category, to Danish drama 'The Last Tenants'.<br /><br />The 19-minute-long Hindi fiction film, was shot in Mumbai with an Indian cast and producers.<br />Rahman, who had clinched two trophies for his compositions in 'Slumdog..' last year, had been long-listed in the 'Best Original Song' category for his score 'Na Na' from his Hollywood debut venture "Couple's Retreat", but failed to get a nomination.<br /><br />While Rahman's foot tapping number 'Jai Ho' won last year, this time the award went to the song 'The Weary Kind' from 'Crazy Heart'.Last year, the India story dominated the Academy Awards with three films, 'Slumdog ', director Danny Boyle's potboiler set in the underbelly of Mumbai's crime and poverty and two documentaries 'The Final Inch' and 'Smile Pinki'.<br />'Smile Pinki', a 37-minute documentary by American director Megan Mylan about a young Indian girl ostracised because of her cleft lip, had went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) last year. <br /></p>
