'Taare Zameen Par' out of Oscars race

Los Angeles, Jan 14 (IANS) Aamir Khan's directorial debut 'Taare Zameen Par' failed to make it to the short-list in the Foreign Language Film category of the Oscar nominations for the 81st Annual Academy Awards 2009.

The Oscar selection committee announced Tuesday a list of nine movies out of which five will make into the final competition out of a total of 65 entries with each country choosing one film.

According to a press statement released on Oscars' official website: 'Waltz with Bashir' (Israel), '3 Monkeys' (Turkey), 'Revanche' (Austria), 'The Necessities of Life' (Canada), 'The Baader Meinhof Complex' (Germany), 'Departures' (Japan), 'Tear This Heart Out' (Mexico), 'Everlasting Moments' (Sweden) and 'The Class' (France) have made it to the second round.

The five nominees will be announced Jan 22.

Earlier, Aamir missed an Oscar opportunity when Ashutosh Gowariker-directed 'Lagaan' made it to the nominations in the foreign language nominations, but failed to bag the award.