MUMBAI: The Oscar nomination of 'Alone Yet Not Alone' for the Best Original Song has been revoked. In a shocking twist, the Motion Picture Academy has revoked the nomination of the song from a faith-based movie of the same name, citing improper actions by one of the songwriters.

Bruce Broughton, who wrote the song's music, is also a member of the executive committee of the academy's music branch, whose members vote on the song nominations. The academy stated that Broughton improperly e-mailed members of the branch during the voting period, urging them to give "Alone Yet Not Alone" a listen.

Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Academy President revealed that Broughton's action to try and influence the other members' decision in his favour violated the bylaw that campaigning must be conducted "in a fair and ethical manner." In a statement, Boone said,"No matter how well-intentioned the communication, using one's position as a former governor and current executive committee member to personally promote one's own Oscar submission creates the appearance of an unfair advantage."

Broughton went back on the defensive, saying that he did nothing wrong — indeed, entreaties of some type or another to members of various branches are common during awards season — and that the disqualification was the result of pressure from snubbed rivals.

"... I'm getting something taken away from me when these other studios have been skirting on the edges of proper behaviour for months, backed by huge troughs of money," Broughton said, according to reports."I feel sullied. I feel dirtied. I don't like my reputation being taken down like this."

In the 86-year-history of the Oscars, only four other nominees have had their nominations rescinded, usually for technical reasons having to do with eligibility requirements. This one would be the first nominee to have been disqualified for improper campaigning, the academy said.

The track will not be replaced by another nominee in the category, whose four remaining entrants are U2's 'Ordinary Love' from the film Mandela, Pharrell Williams' 'Happy' from Despicable Me 2, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez's 'Let It Go' from Frozen and Karen O and Spike Jonze's 'The Moon Song' from Her.

"Alone Yet Not Alone" seemed fishy to begin with and raised eyebrows when it was included in that list. The song, whose lyrics were written by Dennis Spiegel, came from an independent movie about 18th-century colonists that few had heard of and that had received a niche release in no more than 11 theatres, where it has taken in about $100,000 at the box office. A larger release is planned later this year.

The sudden action taken against the nomination had already begun sparking a debate about acceptable methods of Oscar campaigning. "I was confused by the logic of all of this," said a member of the academy's music branch who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the issue. "I received several personal calls and emails from publicists asking me to vote for the songs they represented. I never received a single call or email from either Bruce or Dennis."

Oscar voting begins on Feb. 14, with the winners announced in an ABC telecast from the Dolby Theatre on March 2.