Amol Palekar to head India's Oscar jury

Veteran actor-filmmaker Amol Palekar has been appointed the chairman of India's Oscar jury by the Film Federation of India (FFI), which selects the country's official entry in the Best Foreign Film category of the prestigious Academy Awards.

"Amol Palekar is an icon of the industry. Being an actor, director and producer, he is one of the top most talent in the country. That's why we choose his name as the chairman," Supran Sen, secretary general of FFI told IANS.

Amol, 70, whose directorial film "Paheli" was chosen as India's official entry for the Academy Awards in 2005, will be heading a 17-member jury from September 17 to September 24 that will select India's official entry for the 88th Academy Awards, to be held in Los Angeles on February 28.

Amol, who has been away from the silver screen for a while, is known for his roles in films like "Rajnigandha", "Chhoti Si Baat", "Chitchor" and "Golmaal". He has also directed National Award-winning films like "Dhyaas Parva" and "Quest". He was last seen in the Marathi film "Samantar" with Sharmila Tagore.

He is currently seen in the TV show "Ek Nayi Ummeed - Roshni".

He will succeed veteran film directors Hariharan and Goutam Ghose as the chairman of the committee.

Last year, "Liar's Dice", a road drama starring Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in lead roles, was selected as India's official entry to the Best Foreign Film category of Oscars, but it failed to make it to the top five.

"Mother India", "Salaam Bombay!" and "Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India" are the Indian films that made it to the top five at the Academy Awards.