Rahman in Oscar race with Boyle`s `127 Hours`

Los Angeles, Dec 16 (PTI) After bagging a Golden Globe
nomination, music maestro A R Rahman is once again in Oscar
race with his song 'If I Rise' from '127 Hours' making it to
the Academy shortlist for the Original Song category.
A total of 41 tunes, including the number that Rahman
wrote for Danny Boyle's film, will be judged for Oscar
considerations by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and
Sciences.
Clips featuring the songs will be viewed by the members
of the music branch, who will vote to determine the final
nominees on January 6, Academy's official website said
unveiling the list on Thursday.
It is a happy coincident for Rahman, who had a similar
golden run in the award circuits in 2009. The 44-year-old
singer-composer won his first Golden Globe in 2009 in the Best
Original Score category for Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire',
which also went on to fetch him two Oscar statuettes later.
The musician's song for 'Couples Retreat' had also made
it to the shortlist last year but failed to fetch a nomination
for him.
Rahman has already received rave reviews for his music in
'127 Hours', starring James Franco as real-life mountain
climber Aron Ralston, who cut off his arm to escape from
beneath a boulder after being trapped for more than five days.
'If I Rise' is a collaboration between Rahman and
American popstar Dido.
Musical 'Burlesque' with its three songs is leading the
shortlist while two tunes each from 'Black Tulip', 'Country
Strong' and 'Despicable Me' are in the race.
To be selected for the nominations, a song must score an
8.25 rating or higher and Academy members are known to be
choosy when it comes to rounding up the nomination list, which
could feature as few as two songs or none.
If only one song receives a 8.25 score, that song and
the song with next highest score will be selected as nominees.
A maximum of five nominees will be chosen.
This year's shortlist includes Randy Newman for his
contribution to the Disney-Pixar toon 'Toy Story 3' song 'We
Belong Together', 'You Haven't Seen the Last of Me' and 'Bound
to You' from 'Burlesque'; 'I See the Light', 'Coming Home'
from 'Country Strong' and 'There's a Place for Us' from
'Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'.
The nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards will be
unveiled January 25 while the award ceremony will take place
on February 27 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.