Will Rahman win a third Oscar?

After bagging a Golden Globe nomination, music maestro A R Rahman is once again in Oscar race with his song 'If I Rise' from 127 Hours making it to the Academy shortlist for the Original Song category.

A total of 41 tunes, including the number that Rahman wrote for Danny Boyle's film, will be judged for Oscar considerations by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Clips featuring the songs will be viewed by the members of the music branch, who will vote to determine the final nominees on January 6, Academy's official website said unveiling the list on Thursday.

It is a happy coincident for Rahman, who had a similar golden run in the award circuits in 2009. The 44-year-old singer-composer won his first Golden Globe in 2009 in the Best Original Score category for Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, which also went on to fetch him two Oscar statuettes later. The musician's song for Couples Retreat had also made it to the shortlist last year but failed to fetch a nomination for him.

Rahman has already received rave reviews for his music in 127 Hours, starring James Franco as real-life mountain climber Aron Ralston, who cut off his arm to escape from beneath a boulder after being trapped for more than five days.

'If I Rise' is a collaboration between Rahman and American popstar Dido. Musical Burlesque with its three songs is leading the shortlist while two tunes each from Black Tulip, Country Strong and Despicable Me are in the race.

To be selected for the nominations, a song must score an 8.25 rating or higher and Academy members are known to be choosy when it comes to rounding up the nomination list, which could feature as few as two songs or none. If only one song receives a 8.25 score, that song and the song with next highest score will be selected as nominees. A maximum of five nominees will be chosen.

This year's shortlist includes Randy Newman for his contribution to the Disney-Pixar toon Toy Story 3 song 'We Belong Together', 'You Haven't Seen the Last of Me' and 'Bound to You' from Burlesque; 'I See the Light', 'Coming Home' from Country Strong and 'There's a Place for Us' from Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

The nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards will be unveiled January 25 while the award ceremony will take place on February 27 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.

Image: A R Rahman holds his two Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire.
Photograph: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters