Canadian Press - Shah Rukh To Promote ´

Canadian Press - Shah Rukh To Promote Paheli In US Ahead Of
Oscars

Here is what the Canadian Press reports about India's official Oscar
entry 'Paheli - One of India's biggest movie stars, Shah Rukh Khan,
said he plans to release his latest film in mainstream movie
theatres in the United States in December in hopes of garnering an
Oscar nomination.


India has submitted the Hindi-language film 'Paheli', or Riddle, as
its entry for the foreign film category, and nominations for the
awards are to be announced on Jan. 31.

Khan, who produced and acted in the movie, said the film's stars and
crew would visit the United States to promote the movie, which is to
be released in art house cinemas and mainstream theatres in
December.

"I need to promote the film" based on an ancient Hindu legend about
a ghost who falls in love with a woman, Khan was quoted as saying
Monday by the Times of India newspaper.

The newspaper did not say if Khan had secured a U.S. distributor for
the movie.

Movies from a record 58 countries are in contention for this year's
foreign-language Academy Award. The previous record was 56 films for
the 2003 Oscars.

In 2001, 'Lagaan' , a Bollywood blockbuster about poor Indian
villagers reversing a repressive land tax by beating their colonial
British rulers at a game of cricket, was a nominee in the foreign
film category at the Academy Awards. It received widespread
attention overseas, but failed to win the Oscar.

Bollywood is the name for India's Mumbai-based film industry. It
mostly churns out romances and melodramas filled with songs and
dances.