Two desis in contention for Oscars Britain nominates Asif Kapadia's The Warrior as its entry for the Academy Awards

Arthur J Pais in New York

For the first time in Oscar history, two desis with their movies are in competition for one of the five nominations in the foreign film category.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's $12 million Devdas, the most expensive film ever made in India, will face competition from The Warrior, starring Irfan Khan, Asif Kapadia's British film made for about $1 million. Movies from more than 50 countries are expected to compete for the five slots. Britain announced the nomination of The Warrior on Friday.

Kapadia's film beat movies made by more recognized British filmmakers such as Stephen Frears and Mike Leigh. This is the first feature film by Kapadia, a graduate of the Royal College of Art, whose short film, The Sheep Thief, launched his career five years ago. The movie stars mostly newcomers.

Kapadia, who was born and raised near London, first went to India when he was 23. The next time he returned to shoot The Sheep Thief. "Shooting in India was the toughest challenge I have ever had," he told India Abroad, the newspaper owned by rediff.com some weeks ago. "I vowed never to return." But when he heard an old Samurai tale from his friend and would be co-writer Tim Miller, Kapadia began to think of India again.

The two movies could not be more dissimilar. While Bhansali's Devdas is melodramatic and lavish, Kapadia's film looks into the soul of a warrior in Rajasthan who has renounced violence to seek peace in the Himalayas. But before he finds the peace, he has to deal with the wrath of a warlord who wants him to remain a warrior.

Kapadia's movie, which premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival in August last year, will be released in America by Miramax.

"It is a movie that is concerned with the state of affairs today, and the violence around us," Kapadia, who co-wrote the film, said, adding that he expected it to have wide appeal.

Bhansali's film, a hit with desis in England grossing about $3.5 million, was slammed by several mainstream critics, with one of them calling it 'an industrial production' and an embarrassment. Kapadia's film received praise from most, with Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praising it for its 'old-fashioned storytelling gusto.' There is 'something calm and seductively mysterious in the scenes and sequences Kapadia conjures up,' he added. But Peter Finch writing in The Observer complained that the 'carefully composed images are very beautiful,' but 'the film has a hollow ring.'

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will pick five entries February 11 to compete as nominees for the foreign-language Oscar. The awards will be given on March 23.