By Zafri Mudasser Nofil, IANS

Filmmaker Jahnu Barua, whose "Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara", chosen as the best film in Japan's Fukuoka International Film Festival, has missed an entry to this year's Oscars run up due to "a technical hitch".

Barua had decided to send "Maine Gandhi Ko..." directly for the Oscars after Rakyesh Mehra's "Rang De Basanti" was named India's official entry to the Academy Oct 2.

"According to the rules, films released on or after Oct 1 (2005) are eligible for direct entries. As ill luck would have it, 'Maine Gandhi Ko...' was released on Sep 30 last year," Barua told IANS over telephone from Mumbai.

But the filmmaker, who hails from Assam, is unperturbed. "The only regret is that the film missed a larger audience," he said.

Barua was given the prestigious Kodak Vision Award for "Maine Gandhi Ko...", the only award given at the just-concluded Japan festival and chosen on the basis of audience votes.

"My film was well received by Japanese audience. It's a great honour. There were even two extra screenings," he said.

The award comprises a citation, a trophy and the entire negative raw stock for a future project from Kodak.

The only other Indian film shown at the festival was Buddhadeb Dasgupta's "Kalpurush" (Memories in the Mist).

Barua said the main purpose of making the film was to reflect the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi in a fairly positive way.

The film, starring Anupam Kher and Urmila Matondkar, tells the poignant story of a retired professor (Kher) suffering from bouts of forgetfulness.

Asked why people have widely accepted the "Gandhigiri" mantra shown in Raju Hirani's "Lage Raho Munnabhai", Barua says it all depends on the audience.

"It's not that the audience has rejected my film outright. It was not purely commercial but at several places, including at international festivals, it was warmly received.

"Even in Japan, the audience - during interactions after the screening - showed a deep appreciation for Gandhian philosophy and asked me a number of questions regarding it," he said.

The film had earlier won the best actor award in the Karachi Film Festival, the FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) Award for the best film at the International Film Festival, Mumbai (IFFM), the best film, best actor and audience choice awards at the Riverside International Film Festival in California, apart from being screened at the Dubai Film Festival.

Barua's "Halodhiya Choraye Baodhan Khai" (Catastophe) won the President's Swarna Kamal for the best feature film in 1987, while "Hkhagoroloi Bohu Door" (It's a Long Way to the Sea) received the Swarna Kamal for best director in 1996.

His "Firingoti (Spark)" won the second best film national award and the best actress award for Moloya Goswami. In 2003, Barua was given the Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian award, for his contribution to cinema.

The director's next Hindi venture "Butterfly Chase", starring Yashpal Sharma and Gauri Karnik, is readying for release.