Will this wedding get an Oscar honeymoon?

don't count out mira nair or monsoon wedding just yet. with nomination norms stipulating an october 31 theatre release in india, monsoon wedding wasn't expected to be able to beat the deadline adhered to by the film federation of india (ffi). expect the unexpected. things are changing. says mira nair, when i make monsoon wedding, i am not thinking of the oscar.i am thinking simply of the act of making it. i know that to win an oscar needs not just a worthy film but a strong mainstream distributor willing to wage a massive oscar campaign. what's more, monsoon wedding's distributor across the atlantic usa films, which has already reaped a rich haul at the oscars this year with traffic, has pitched in to lobby with ffi members. in fact, usa films chairman scott greenstein has personally written to the ffi. the one-page page letter carries a straightforward message: you nominate monsoon wedding as india's entry for the oscars in the best foreign film category and we will leave no stone unturned to get india its first academy award. adds nair, i know the vibe about our film is huge here and usa films is determined to capitalise on this love for the film by conducting a carefully orchestrated oscar campaign preceded by three months of publicity. it is the studio's intention to win the first oscar for india with monsoon wedding. incidentally, usa films intends release monsoon wedding in america in january next year, timing the screening to coincide with the oscar buzz. ''we, at usa films, are prepared to do whatever is necessary to secure the academy award,'' goes greenstein. the question is, will ffi members oblige? after all, lagaan and asoka are contenders, not pretenders. and with three lobbies at work, it is difficult to predict which way the ffi vote will swing. yes, as difficult as predicting the sequel to: and the oscar goes to....