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

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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.

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