Noted actor-director Amol Palekar today expressed happiness at his film 'Paheli' being selected to represent India in the foreign film category at the prestigious Oscars.

Asked what clinched the issue for the Shah Rukh-starrer film among 14 contenders, Palekar told that it was ''Our sincerity, our commitment and faith in what we were doing.'' ''We made it as we wanted to make it and it took us 47 days to complete.

The film has a tremendous star cast and the film won't have been what it is without their commitment,'' he said.

Asked whether he expected this kind of recognition, the 'Paheli' director said ''We never made the story with any returns in mind''.

The film's Assistant Director and dialogue writer Sandhya Gokhale told this correspondent that they were ''overwhelmed'' at the news.

''We believed in the strength of the story and the narration, we were confident of what we were doing. Besides Amol is a meticulous film maker.''

Asked whether Shah Rukh and Rani Mukherji, the female lead, had got in touch with them, she replied in the affirmative, ''Shah Rukh is in New York but has sent a congratulatory message but Rani is busy shooting. However, she is aware of it the (nomination).''

Palekar and Gokhale were busy preparing for the Tendulkar Festival that gets underway in the city from October 3-9 when the news about the selection was conveyed to them.