Rang De Basanti, the tale of seven college students who go up in arms against the system, is India’s entry for the Oscars. Directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and starring Indian superstar Aamir Khan (the hero in the Academy Award-nominated Lagaan), the song-and-dance political epic has become one of Bollywood`s biggest blockbusters of the year.
Slawomir Fabicki’s Z Odzysku / Retrieval, the story of an unemployed amateur boxer who becomes a gangster’s henchman, has been chosen as Poland’s submission for the 2006 Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award.
Egypt’s Oscar entry is director Marwan Hamed and screenwriter Wahid Hamid’s controversial adaptation of Alaa’ Al-Aswany’s Omaret yakobean / Yacoubian Building, which has created a stir upon its release in Egypt. Egyptian nationalists and Fundamentalist Muslims were offended by the film’s depiction of corruption and different manifestations of human sexuality in an iconic Cairo building. At least one local politician wanted Yacoubian Building banned, while tenants at the real Yacoubian refused to allow shooting on the property, claiming the film portrayed them "as indecent people."
According to Al Bawaba, Yacoubian Building was picked "because it truly reflects Egyptian life."