Tollywood directors C.V. Reddy and N. Shankar are now all set to be part of the 12-member jury that will select India’s Oscar entry this year.

Shankar is a Nandi award winner and Reddy was previously on the jury of the Indian Panorama division.

Also, while 'Eega' had narrowly lost out to 'Barfi' last year, there are two Telugu films 'Mithunam' — a love story of an aged couple — and 'Adi Sankara' — a biopic — in the race for the Oscar nomination this year.

The Film Federation of India has already started receiving entries. The five-day screening of 15 shortlisted films from different industries will take place from September 17 to 22 at Hyderabad.

Legendary filmmakers like Gautam Ghosh and Bharatiaraja are also expected to be in the jury. "It’s true that we are holding the screening in Hyderabad," says Supran Sen, secretary general, Film Federation of India, who claims that around eight films have already been listed for nomination. "We are getting lots of enquiries and we’ll surely have another eight to nine films from different languages since we have two more weeks for drafting the final list," he adds.

Sen says that the Federation is happy to hold the screenings in Hyderabad. "Hyderabad is a popular film destination for Indian cinema with the best of facilities and has great hospitality too," he explains.

He, however, was reluctant to name the members or the films to be listed. "Until we get strong confirmations we can't reveal names," he adds.

About the fact that only two Telugu films were being screened before the panel, state award winning filmmaker Sunil Kumar Reddy says, "The entry fee of Rs 50,000 is big a deterrent for experimental filmmakers. Rich filmmakers who can afford it rarely send their movies as they are unsure of potboilers being selected."

Director Allani Sridhar says, "Although it's a matter of pride to compete for the Oscars, most filmmakers realise the futility of sending regular films. Only truly path-breaking ones stand a chance. Luckily, both 'Mithunam' and 'Adi Sankara' are niche films in their own ways and these two should encourage directors to break norms."