The furore over Paheli as India's selection for the 2006 Oscars continues.

Here are some industry reactions to the Shah Rukh Khan [Images] movie being chosen to represent Indian cinema:

Subhash Ghai [Images], director: Paheli [Images] represents India's colours, culture, ethos and mythical beliefs. It's based on an original work of an Indian writer from Rajasthan. These are elements that may have tilted the scales towards Paheli away from other good films. I'm on the Emmy Awards jury and I know how tough it is to judge when there are so many deserving creations. I'm happy my Iqbal was considered for this honour. I'm happy for Shah Rukh and his team.

You decide: Is Paheli the right choice?

Asha Parekh, actress: I can't understand how Paheli was selected. I feel it should have been Black or Veer-Zaara. Both of them are such lovely films, and with such a positive message of humanism.

Vipul Shah, director: It's surprising. No one expected this. But if the jury didn't want Black to go, then there wasn't much  choice.

'Paheli was a unanimous decision'

Shabana Azmi [Images], actress: Paheli is absolutely the most appropriate choice. In fact, when we saw the film, Jadoo [her nickname for husband Javed Akhtar] had told Shah Rukh Khan, 'you really try to get Paheli to the Oscar!' The film is an appropriate representation of the best in Hindi cinema. It has a delightful story, which consists of fantasy, reality, dance, and folktale. It's a story that works as a parable. There are so many things in the film. I am very happy with the jury's choice.

Victor Banerjee, actor: I think Paheli is a worthy enough choice that represents the the spirit and colour of India.

Amol Palekar on Paheli and the Oscars

Madhavan [Images], actor: I think Black should have been selected for the Oscar. This is clearly not a fair and unbiased selection. My heart reaches out to Mr Amitabh Bachchan [Images] and Mr Sanjay Leela Bhansali [Images].

Anant Mahadevan, director: Frankly, it beats me why we don't delve into regional cinema to represent us at the Oscars. They have some world -class cinema in Bengali and Malayalam. But strangely, till today, an Adoor Gopalakrishnan, whom I rate on par with [Satyajit] Ray and [Ritwik] Ghatak hasn't found an Oscar entry. Still, if Paheli found favour it must have been due to its author Vijaydan Detha. His story is deep-rooted in Indian culture and tradition. Paheli needs to be trimmed down to a 100 minutes. It may then stand a good chance of favourable viewing. Black fell out of favour for its obvious source [Arthur Penn's 1962 classic, The Miracle Worker] of inspiration. Paheli has some stunning visuals.

Why Paheli is better than Black

Hansal Mehta, director: When people talk about Black not being original, I'm dismayed. There's hardly a frame in Black comparable with The Miracle Worker. Also, what do they mean by calling Paheli more original? Mani Kaul filmed the same story as Duvidha two decades ago. As for the language, Black speaks the language of the heart; sign language doesn't have to be in English or Hindi.

Inputs: Subhash K Jha, Indrani Roy Mitra