The Oscar-winning sound designer is targeting the Jewish lobby to get India's entry nominated for Best Foreign Film this February

As the race to the 84th Academy Awards heats up, none other than former Oscar-winner Resul Pookutty is championing the cause of Malayalam film Adaminte Makan Abu, India's entry to the Best Foreign Language Film category.

The Oscars take place on February 26, but industry bigwigs and studios are targeting January 24 -- the day the announcements about which films have been nominated in various categories are announced.

While the Indian entry tells an extremely culture-specific story of a Muslim perfume seller who wants to make a Hajj pilgrimage, Pookutty is reportedly trying to get around this limitation by wooing Hollywood's strong Jewish lobby.

He has even visited Los Angeles a number of times and screened the film for various members from the lobby. Sources say, Pookutty believes this is the way to go and the story of a holy pilgrimage will ring a bell with members from the Jewish community.

When contacted, Pookutty said, "Adaminte Makan Abu is not about religion. It is about belief and pilgrimage. These are themes that I'm sure Americans, especially the Jewish community, would identify with."

The sound designer who also re-designed and re-mixed the sound for the film before its official screening for the Academy members, added, "I'm trying to guide the film as much as I can. I've been to LA three times in the past one month alone."