A history of Indian nominations at the Oscars

So far, 13 Indians have been nominated to the Oscars and eight of them have won the prestigious award. Here’s a look at all the nominations for Indian films, documentaries and shorts for the Academy.

1958: Though not an official entry, Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957) was the first Indian film to receive an honorary mention in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 30th Academy Awards. It was a critical and commercial success, both in India and abroad and was also nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The film is a powerful portrayal of the resilience and strength of Indian women, with Nargis delivering a remarkable performance in the lead role.

1961: At the 33rd Oscars, producer Ismail Merchant’s 13-minute short film The Creation of Woman (1961) and directed by Charles F Schwep was nominated in the Best Short Subject (Live Action) category. It, however, didn’t win. The film, narrated by Saeed Jaffrey, portrays the genesis of man and woman from the perspective of Brahma, the Hindu god of creation. The lead roles are performed by two skilled dancers, while Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury portrays the character of God.

1969: Fali Bilimoria’s short documentary The House That Ananda Built (1968) was nominated for Best Documentary (Short Subject) at the 41st Academy Awards but it didn’t win. The documentary follows Ananda, a successful businessman in Nagpur, and looks at his life, children and beliefs from prior to independence until 20 years after.

1978: Ishu Patel’s short animated Bead Game (1977) was nominated in the Best Animated Short Film category at the 50th Academy Awards, though it did not win. The film features a series of intricate hand-drawn animations, set to a haunting soundtrack of Indian classical music. The images depict the life cycle of a single organism, from birth to death and rebirth, as well as the larger cycles of nature and the cosmos.

1979: Producer KK Kapil’s short 18-minute documentary An Encounter with Faces (1978), which was directed by Vidhu Vinodh Chopra, was nominated for Best Documentary (Short Subject), for outstanding visuals and cinematography, at the 51st Oscars. The documentary follows the lives of children in an orphanage. Though it didn’t win the Oscar, the documentary won in the Grad Prix category at the Tampere Film Festival in 1980.

1983: At the 55th Oscars, Bhanu Athaiya became the first Indian to win an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for her work in the film Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi (1982), which she shared with John Mollo. She dedicated the award to her country, saying that it was a “big moment for India and an even bigger one for Indian women.” Late sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, along with English composer George Fenton, who had provided the music for the film, was nominated for Best Original Score. They, however, did not win the Academy Award.

1987: Producer Ismail Merchant’s second nomination for the Oscars was his 1958 romantic film A Room with a View, which was directed by James Ivory. In the 59th Academy Awards, the film received eight nominations, including Best Picture, and won three awards: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, and Best Costume Design. The film is based on the novel of the same name by E.M. Forster and explores social conventions and personal desires, particularly in the context of love and relationships.

1989: Mira Nair’s iconic film Salaam Bombay! (1988) was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 61st Academy Awards. Despite not winning the Oscar, Salaam Bombay went on to win numerous other awards, including the Caméra d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. The film offers a glimpse into the lives of street children in the slums of Mumbai, and the challenges they face on a daily basis.

Satyajit Ray received an Honorary Academy Award in 1992. (Photo: Express Archives)

1992: At the 64th Academy Awards, legendary Bengali director Satyajit Ray became the first, and only Indian so far, to receive an Honorary Academy Award. The award was “in recognition of his rare mastery of the art of motion pictures, and of his profound humanitarian outlook, which has had an indelible influence on filmmakers and audiences throughout the world.” Ray’s famous works include The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959), The Music Room (1958), The Big City (1963) and Charulata (1964) and the Goopy–Bagha trilogy.

1993: Merchant’s third nomination for the Academy Awards was the period romantic drama Howards End (1992) for Best Picture at the 65th Academy Awards. The film, which didn’t win the award, eventually enjoyed critical acclaim and commercial success, grossing over $32 million on an $8-million budget. It marked Merchant Ivory Productions’ third adaptation of a Forster novel.

1994: Yet another Merchant Ivory production, The Remains of the Day (1993), was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture at the 66th Oscars. Despite not winning the Oscar yet again, the British Film Institute ranked The Remains of the Day the 64th-greatest British film of the 20th century.

2002:  Ashutosh Gowariker’s Hindi epic sports drama Lagaan (2001) was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 74th Academy Awards. Though the film didn’t win the Oscar, it several awards at Indian award ceremonies, including eight National Film Awards, eight Filmfare Awards, eight Screen Awards and 10 IIFA Awards. The film, which stars  Aamir Khan alongside debutant Gracy Singh and British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne, also enjoyed commercial success, grossing over $28 million in worldwide earnings.

2005: Ashvin Kumar’s 2004 short film Little Terrorist (2004) was nominated for Best Short Subject (Live Action) at the 77th Academy Awards. The film follows the story of a young Pakistani boy who accidentally crosses the border into India and is mistaken for a terrorist. Though it lost the Oscar, Little Terrorist won several awards at international film festivals, including the Best Short Film Award at the Montreal World Film Festival and the Best Short Film Award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

Resul Pookutty won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for Slumdog Millionaire. (Photo: Express Archives)

2009: At the 81st Academy Awards, AR Rahman won two Oscars for Danny Boyel’s 2008 drama Slumdog Millionaire  — Best Original Score and Best Original Song, which he shared with legendary lyricist Gulzar, for Jai Ho. Indian sound designer Resul Pookutty, along with his English counterparts Richard Pryke and Ian Tapp, won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for Slumdog Millionaire.

AR Rahman won two Oscars in 2009. (Photo: Express Archives)

2011: Rahman received two more nominations at the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for If I Rise, for Doyle’s biographical survival drama film 127 Hours but lost in both categories.

2013: Pi’s Lullaby, composed by Canadian Mychael Danna with lyrics by Indian Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri Ramnath, for Ang Lee’s Life of Pie (2012) was nominated for Best Original Song at the 85th Academy Awards but did not win.

2022: Filmmakers Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas were nominated for their 2021 documentary film Writing with Fire for Best Documentary Feature at the 94th Academy Awards. Writing with Fire documents the story of journalists running the Dalit women-led newspaper Khabar Lahariya and race their shift from 14 years of print to digital journalism using smartphones.

2023: Shaunak Sen and Aman Mann’s All That Breathes (2022) is nominated for Best Documentary Feature this year while Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga’s  Elephant Whisperers (2022) has been nominated for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Indian composer MM Keeravani and Telugu lyricist Chandrabose are also nominated for Best Original Song for Naatu Naatu, from SS Rajamouli’s epic action drama RRR.