'Peepli Live' out of Oscar race; Aamir Khan disappointed

Peepli Live, India's official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film this year, is out of the race with the movie failing to make it to the final nine.

Producer Aamir Khan said he was disappointed that the film failed to make to the final list but felt honoured to have his film in the  pool of 66 films that were considered.

"The 50-60 films that were selected are such good films that to just be there is an honour in itself...But yes, we are disappointed that we could make to the top five," said Aamir.

Peepli Live was selected from 27 movies including Rajneeti and Udaan to represent India at the Oscars. Aamir had won an Oscar nomination for his 2001 film Lagaan. His Taare Zameen Par (2007) also returned empty handed from the Academy awards.

Directed by debutante Anusha Rizvi, the film is a satire on media's trivialisation of farmers' suicide and stars a host of theatre actors.

The nine films were selected out of 66 films that had originally qualified in the category. The list will be winnowed down to the five nominees by the Academy voters for January 25 Oscar nominations.

The films that are still in the Oscars race are --Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Mexican film Biutiful, starring Javier Bardem, Algeria's Hors la Loi (Outside the Law) by director Rachid Bouchareb, Canada's Incendies by Denis Villeneuve, Denmark's In a Better World by Susanne Bier, Greece's Dogtooth by Yorgos Lanthimos, Japan's Confessions by Tetsuya Nakashima, South Africa Life, above All by Oliver Schmitz, Spain's Tambien la Lluvia by Iciar Bollain and Sweden's Simple Simon by Andreas Ohman.

The 83rd Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood.