Several Indian individuals and films have received or been nominated for the Academy Awards (also known as the Oscars) in different categories. As of 2023 [update] , 20 Indians have been nominated and 10 have won Oscars including in the scientific and technical category.
At the 30th Academy Awards, Mehboob Khan's 1957 Hindi-language film Mother India was India's first submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film category. [1] It was nominated alongside four other films and lost to the Italian film Nights of Cabiria (1957) by one vote. [2] [3] In 1982, The National Film Development Corporation of India was instrumental in co-producing Richard Attenborough's biographical film Gandhi . [4] [5] At the 55th Academy Awards, Bhanu Athaiya became the first Indian to win an Academy Award for designing the costumes. [6] Ravi Shankar was nominated for Best Original Score for the same film. [7] As of 2023, three Indian films have been nominated for Best International Feature—Mother India, Salaam Bombay! (1988) and Lagaan (2001).
In 1992, legendary Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray was bestowed with an Honorary Academy Award, becoming the only Indian to date to receive the honour. [8] Resul Pookutty and A. R. Rahman won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing and Best Original Score, respectively, for the 2008 British film Slumdog Millionaire . Rahman also won for Best Original Song alongside lyricist Gulzar for the song "Jai Ho", [9] becoming the first Indian to date to have won more than one Academy Award. Rahman also holds the record for most nominations for an Indian with five total nominations to date, followed by Ismail Merchant with four nominations (three for Best Picture and once for Live Action Short).
At the 95th Academy Awards, three different Indian productions received Oscar nominations, with both RRR (feature film) and The Elephant Whisperers (Documentary short film) winning their respective categories and thus becoming the first Indian full length feature film and first Indian Documentary short film to win the Oscars. [10] Several Indians and Indian Americans have received the Oscars in the technical category like Rahul Thakkar, Cottalango Leon and Vikas Sathaye.
Year | Recipient | Note | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
1992 (64th) | Satyajit Ray | "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." | [11] [12] |
Year | Nominee(s)/recipient(s) | Category | Note | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Rahul Thakkar [lower-alpha 1] | Academy Award for Technical Achievement | Shared the award with Richard Chuang | [30] |
Cottalango Leon [lower-alpha 2] | Shared the award with Sam Richards and J. Robert Ray | [31] | ||
2018 | Vikas Sathaye [lower-alpha 3] | Shared the award with John Coyle, Brad Hurndell and Shane Buckham | [33] |
The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted from the Art Directors' branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) being renamed the Designers' branch. Since 1947, the award is shared with the set decorators. It is awarded to the best interior design in a film.
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Supporting Actor winner. In lieu of the traditional Oscar statuette, supporting acting recipients were given plaques up until the 16th Academy Awards, when statuettes were awarded to each category instead.
The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for achievement in film costume design.
The Academy Award for Best Director is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibited outstanding directing while working in the film industry. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Director winner.
Bhanu Athaiya was an Indian costume designer and painter. She was the first Indian to win an Academy Award. Alongside being Bollywood's most iconic costume designer, she had a historically important early career as an artist with contemporaries like M. F. Husain, F. N. Souza and Vasudeo S. Gaitonde. She was the only woman member of the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group. Two of Bhanu Rajopadhye's artworks were included in the 1953 Progressive Artists' Group show in Bombay.
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Actress winner.
The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Actor winner.
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role in a film released that year. The award is traditionally presented by the previous year's Best Supporting Actress winner. In lieu of the traditional Oscar statuette, supporting acting recipients were given plaques up until the 16th Academy Awards, when statuettes were awarded to each category instead.
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the Oscars for 1957, the two categories were combined to honor only the screenplay.