The Academy’s verdict is in: the five films still in the “Best Foreign-Language Film” race are Beaufort (Israel), Mongol (Kazakhstan), Katyn (Poland), The Counterfeiters (Austria) and 12 (Russia). India’s official submission, Eklavya – The Royal Guard is out. But not forgotten.

Bollywood annually cranks out about 1,200 films a year, with spectacles and stars that rival our biggest TomKats and Branjelinas, and now the Bombay-based industry is establishing toeholds around the U.S. So while the world’s most popular form of entertainment won’t be repped with a statue come February 24, its entry from Vidhu Vinod Chopra surely deserves consideration.