Dabai (UP), Feb 23: Residents of Dabai of Uttar Pradesh huddled together during the wee hours of Monday and prayed for the success of the documentary film ''Smile Pinky'' based on the life of a girl from their village.

Their prayers seem to have been answered as ''Smile Pinky'' bagged an Oscar for best short documentary in the USA.

"We have been sitting in front of the television. We feel that when she returns successful, our village will become popular and all of us would progress," said Victoria, a villager.

The residents of Pinky''s village feel that the success of the film at the Oscars might bring glory to their village.

"We want that she should become famous. We want that her family and our village both should progress," said Pradeep Vishwakarma, another villager.

''Smile Pinky'' is the story of a child with a lip deformity. It is one of the four films nominated for best short documentary at the famed Academy Awards.

Megan Mylan''s film ''Smile Pinky'' depicts the saga of six-year-old Pinky who becomes a social outcast because of a cleft lip.

In the 39-minute documentary, the girl from this obscure village of Uttar Pradesh, undergoes corrective surgery to get a normal childhood. (ANI)