/> The selection of Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Eklavya as India's official entry to the Oscars seems to have opened up a Pandora's Box.

After filmmaker Bhavna Talwar who has openly accused the Oscar jury of favouring Chopra's film above her own film Dharm, a member of the jury, cinematographer Nadeem Khan now comes forward to expose what he calls the biases within the jury.

"I think Dharm is the film that should've gone.I had never heard of the film or the director before. But when I saw Dharm I was bowled over. For me this, and no other film deserved to go to the Oscars.

In fact 5 votes went for Dharm, 6 went for Eklavya. Just how it happened, I don't know. But as a jury member my conscience doesn't allow me to let this injustice go," says Khan.

Elaborating further Khan reveals, "One jury member Mr Jagdish Sharma seemed to be holding a torch for Eklavya from the very start. Even before we had settled down to view all the films, he went on and on about the supposed virtues of Eklavya.

Jagdishji is my elder. But it came to a point where I had to stop him from pushing the film so blatantly into our faces. I'd definitely say a bias was created in favour of Eklavya. Which is sad.

I don't see why the mistake can't be rectified even now. Instead of letting the wrong film go to the Oscars we need to go through the election process again. Mr Vinod Chopra is my batch mate and I respect him. But something is seriously amiss here."

Industry Reacts To Oscar Nomination

Naseeruddin Shah: "Ha ha ha ha ha"

Anubhav Sinha (director of Cash, Dus): "It should definitely not be Eklavya. Not even Chak De India or Dharm. Have we looked hard enough? I wonder if people selected to choose the film to represent the country have seen some of the films that ended up being nominated by the Academy in the past?

Mani Shankar (director 16 December,Mukhbiir): "I'd have preferred Dharm as it has what other films in the list did not have ....honesty of intention."

Rohit Jugraj (director James): "I don't approve of Eklavya as India's official entry to the Oscars. I'd vote for Black Friday as it depicts tactfully the global issue of terrorism.

Manish Acharya (director of Loins Of Punjab Presents ): "Eklavya has got castles camels and Rajasthani costumes. It's the kind of stuff that Oscar voters like in their foreign-film section..

Navdeep Singh (director Manorama Six Feet Under ): "Eklavya doesn't seem to have much of a chance. Perhaps some regional gem. I've heard a lot about Vanaja.

Manoj Bajpai: "Though Vidhu Vinod Chopra is a brilliant filmmaker I think Dharm or 1971 or any other superior film in any other language should've been considered with seriousness."

Aparna Sen: "I haven't seen Eklavya. So I can't say. But I'd to see films like Buddadeb Dasgupta's Kaal Purush or Shahji Karun's Piravi or Arindam's Hangman's Tale being sent for the Oscars. Who says mainstream Hindi cinema is the only kind of cinema being made in India?"

Satish Kaushik: "I haven't seen Eklavya or Dharm. But Chak De India is a great piece of original cinema. It should've been the Oscar entry."

Sajid Khan: "It shouldn't have been Eklavya. That's all gloss, no soul. Chak De India is my choice."

Suneel Darshan: "With such a limited choice I guess the selection committee should've avoided nominating any film at all.. Just goes to show that awards are all about lobbying and marketing. Vinod Chopra with his media clout. Vinod Chopra with his media and money clout surely has forged his way through."

Ananth Mahadevan (director of Yeh Dil Maange More, Aggar) :"Every year, after a nomination for the Oscars is done, a debate erupts as to whether we have done the right thing...why? Is it because we are all guilty of throwing up another opportunity to represent our craft well?

Or is it a gnawing feeling that we just don't have an entry that measures up to exacting international standards? while there is no denying that Eklavya was an interesting and innovative foray and is Indian to the core, its hamletian inspirations could make it fall short of an Oscar selection mark.

On the other hand a vanaja had all it needed to make the Oscar jury sit up. I reiterate that we should look elsewhere for a world beater. The south and Bengal have consistently thrown up world class cinema.. why wasn't Adoor Gopalkrishnan's latest film [based on M T Vasudevan's story] considered.

An international jury sees no names or box office success as criterion. All they look for is the relevance of a script, its adaptation to screen and performances.

The foreign film Oscar winners in the past few years are testimony to that...so even as we should rejoice that Hindi movies are more popular worldwide and big money spinners, lets for this one crucial moment look beyond Madame Tussaud's icons."

Victor Banerjee: "I can neither approve of mediocrity, nor subscribe to hype."

Mahesh Bhatt: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."