9 Times Oscars Saw The Potential of Indian Cinema

Talk about the Oscars and the visuals of Slumdog Millionaire and A.R. Rahman start running in front of our eyes. Isn’t it true? Slumdog Millionaire won 8 Academy Awards and that was indeed breath gasping. Though this success of the picture was marvelous, it wasn’t the only victory by India or the Indians. Since 1957, we have been submitting pictures to the Oscars almost every year and a few of them have performed remarkably by getting nominated in various categories.

But has any other film apart from Slumdog Millionaire won the Oscar? Well, 4 of our submissions till date have ended up winning the golden statuette and the journey has been really inspiring for our industry. In not just the Best Picture category, but the Indian films and Indians have won the most sought-after award in other categories too like Best Director, Best Score, Best Sound Mixing, Best Costume Design, etc.

Here we bring to you the Indian pictures which made it to the Oscars nomination list.

1. Slumdog Millionaire

“Slumdog Millionaire” rocked the stage of the Oscars by winning 8 awards in the 2009 ceremony, the most by any film that year. Apart from the Best Picture award, A.R. Rahman won the “Best Original Score” and the duo of A.R. Rahman and Gulzar won the “Best Original Song”. Slumdog Millionaire is India’s biggest victory at the Oscars till date.

2. Period. End of Sentence.

In the recently concluded Academy Awards 2019, “Period. End of Sentence.” won the award for “Best Short Documentary”. The film revolves around menstruation and the revolution of local women of Hapur, a city in India, to fight against the deeply rooted stigmas.

3. Life of Pi

Directed by ultra-successful Ang Lee, Life of Pi won 4 Oscars in 2012, the highest number of awards won by a film that year. About surviving a shipwreck in the Pacific with a Bengal Tiger on board, the movie beautifully illustrates the friendship developed between Pi and Richard Parker.

4. Gandhi

Starring the evergreen actor Ben Kingsley, Gandhi was the first picture which brought an Oscar to India in 1982. Gandhi won 8 Academy Awards that day. Bhanu Athaiya won the award for “Best Costume Design”. She became the first Indian to win an Oscar.

5. Mother India

Mother India was India’s first submission to the Oscars and it was nominated too for the “Best Foreign Language Film” in 1958. The picture lost the Oscar by just 1 vote.

6. Salaam Bombay

Salaam Bombay submitted in 1989 became the second Indian picture to be nominated for the Oscar. The film was nominated for the “Best Foreign Language Film” and was later on also included in the “The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made” by The New York Times.

7. An Encounter With Faces

Another short documentary, “An Encounter With Faces” was directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and nominated to the Oscars in 1978 for the category “Best Documentary Short Subject”. The picture focuses on a group of children in an orphanage.

8. Lagaan

Lagaan became the third Indian film to be nominated for the “Best Foreign Language Film” category in the Oscars after Mother India and Salaam Bombay. Though “No Man’s Land” bagged the award, the nomination showed the power of Bollywood to the world.

9. Little Terrorist

Little Terrorist was nominated to the Oscars in 2005 for the “Best Live Action Short Film” category. The movie revolves around Jamal, a 10-year-old Pakistani boy who crossed the Indo-Pak border by mistake while playing cricket nearby in an attempt to catch the ball.

Well, India has been gearing up its movie game. Apart from making some rom-com shizz, we do make films that send out a strong message or take up a persistent society issue and the world recognizes it.

Talking about some other splendid achievements we have bagged, A.R. Rahman is the only Indian who has won more than 1 Academy Award. Also, Satyajit Ray is the only Indian to receive an Honorary Academic Award