Dam999, Sohan Roy's film could not appeal to audience in neither in his home land Kerala or in Tamil Nadu due to various reasons. ''Dam 999 is among the 265 films that made it to the ballot list for the 2011 Academy Awards'', a statement from the film's spokesman said at Chennai today. The movie had a week long Oscar Qualifying Screening at Los Angeles in October.  In addition, three songs from DAM 999 are among the 39 shortlisted numbers in contention for nominations in the Original Song category at the Oscars. The list was announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on its official website. Dakkanaga Dugu Dugu, DAM 999 Theme Song and Mujhe Chhod Ke are the three songs from DAM 999 that are vying for a place in the final nomination list for the category.

In Tamil Nadu it was banned because as per a few the story revolves around the much controversial Mullai Periyar Dam. To this the productions crew firmly protested, but invain. Even the producer contested in the court. The court had directed the producer to meet the Tamil Nadu government and their decision was abiding. The government after hearing the crew’s story banned the film for six months.

On the other hand the Kerala Film Distributors' Association (KFDA) has restricted the screening of the movie in all theatres under its jurisdiction. "The movie had its worldwide release on November 25, but it has been screened in only about 40 theatres across Kerala. It is mainly because of the Kerala Film Distribution Association (KFDA) putting its foot down over the release and screening of the movie," says Sumesh Ramankutty, project manager, Dam 999. The cause of the ban has been attributed to the ongoing conflict between the KFDA and producers' association prevalent at the time of the release, according to which no other movies were to be released during the week which saw the strike by the industry.