Oscar Award Winners in India 2024 will be announced on March 10, 2024. At the latest, India won 2 Oscars in the 2023 Academy Awards for The Elephant Whisperers as Best Documentary (Short Film) and RRR for Best Music (Original Song). The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are the most prestigious awards in the world of cinema. Over the years, several Indian actors, filmmakers, and technicians have won Oscars for their outstanding contributions to the film industry. These awards have not only put Indian cinema on the global map but also serve as an inspiration to many aspiring filmmakers and actors in the country. In this article, we will take a look at some of the most notable Oscar winners from India and their contributions to the world of cinema.
- To date India has won 7 Oscars as Competitive awards, 1 as an Honorary award and 3 Scientific and Technical awards, making a total of 8 Academy Awards in the bucket of India.
- Slumdog Millionaire (2009) has won the most awards.
- Bhanu Athaiya was the first Indian to win an Oscar.
List of Oscar Award Winners in India
The table below features the seven Indian Oscar Award winners to date (competitive and honorary). As soon as any new winners emerge, the table will be updated to include them as part of the list of Indian Oscar Award winners.
Year | Recipients | Category | Film |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Bhanu Athaiya | Best Costume Design | Gandhi |
1992 | Satyajit Ray | Honorary Award | – |
2009 | Resul Pookutty | Best Sound Mixing | Slumdog Millionaire |
2009 | Gulzar | Best Original Song | Slumdog Millionaire |
2009 | A R Rahman | Best Original Score and Best Original Song | Slumdog Millionaire |
2023 | Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga | Best Documentary (Short Film) | The Elephant Whisperers |
2023 | M.M. Keeravani (Music) and Chandrabose (Lyrics) | Best Music (Original Song) | RRR |
Bhanu Athaiya, who was a prominent costume designer in Hindi cinema from the 1950s to the 2000s, had a significant impact on the industry’s aesthetic. She was the first Indian to receive an Oscar for Best Costume Design for the Gandhi biography directed by Richard Attenborough in 1982. Athaiya designed costumes for several Hollywood stars, including historical figures such as MK Gandhi and BR Ambedkar. Her iconic outfits, which combined Indian and Western fashion elements, were worn by both urban and rural characters in films such as Amrapali, Waqt, Brahmachari, Teesri Manzil, Guide, Reshma Aur Shera, 1942: A Love Story, Lagaan, and Swades.
Satyajit Ray, a legendary Indian filmmaker, received the honorary award at the 64th Academy Awards in 1992 in recognition of his exceptional filmmaking skills and profound humanitarian vision, which have had a tremendous impact on filmmakers and viewers worldwide. In addition to this award, Ray also received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and the Bharat Ratna, which are the highest cinema and civilian honours in India, and 36 wins at India’s National Film Awards. The Indian government has established the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Cinema, and various film organisations in the country are planning centenary celebrations for Ray, which will be virtual-physical hybrids due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Resul Pookutty, an Indian sound editor, mixer, and sound designer, won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for his work on the film Slumdog Millionaire. Pookutty has worked on films made in Hollywood, Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam, starting with the 1997 Rajat Kapoor film Private Detective: Two Plus One, which marked his entry into sound design. He rose to prominence after working as a sound engineer for the highly acclaimed 2005 film Black directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Pookutty has also worked on notable films such as Enthiran (2009), Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja (2010), Gandhi, My Father (2011), Zinda (2006), and Traffic Signal (2010).
Gulzar, who is known for his work in scripts, poetry, dialogue, and lyrics, received an Oscar for Best Original Song with AR Rahman for “Jai Ho” at the 81st Academy Awards. The song became a hit not only in India but also in Hollywood. Gulzar has received 36 honours and accolades, including the Rashtriya Kishore Kumar Samman from the Government of Madhya Pradesh for 1999–2000, 22 Filmfare Awards, and five National Film Awards. He has also won the 2002 Sahitya Akademi Award for Urdu, the 2004 Padma Bhushan, and the 2013 Dadasaheb Phalke.
A.R Rahman, a renowned Indian composer, won two Oscars for his work on the film Slumdog Millionaire. He received the Best Original Song Oscar for “Jai Ho,” which he co-wrote with Gulzar, and the Best Original Score Oscar for the film. Rahman began his career by composing music for documentaries, jingles, and Indian television networks in the early 1990s. He later became a prominent film composer through his studio, Panchathan Record Inn, and worked on several films, including the comedy Couple’s Retreat (2009), which won the BMI Award for Best Score. Rahman also won the Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 2010 Grammy Awards.
Oscar Nominations 2023 India
Three Indian movies have made it to the final list of nominations for the 95th Academy Awards, making this year’s Oscars Award special for India. These films are in contention to receive the coveted award in different categories. Below are the full details of these movies and the categories they are nominated in.
The first film is RRR, a historical action-drama epic that gained fame internationally. Directed by SS Rajamouli, the film’s song “Naatu Naatu” has been nominated in the Best Original Song category. The other nominees in the same category include “Applause” (Tell It Like a Woman), “Hold My Hand” (Top Gun: Maverick), “Lift Me Up” (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), and “This Is a Life” (Everything Everywhere All at Once). The song will be performed live on stage as well.
The second film is All That Breathes, a Gujarati language documentary feature directed by Shaunak Sen, which became a finalist for the Academy Award in the category of Best Documentary Feature Film. The movie will compete with All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Fire of Love, A House Made of Splinters, and Navalny.
The third Indian film to make it to the final list of Oscar nominations is The Elephant Whisperers, a Netflix documentary short film directed by Kartiki Gonsalves. The documentary showcases how two abandoned elephants and their keepers form an unbreakable bond. The film is nominated in the category of Best Documentary Short Film. The other nominees of this category include Haulout, How Do You Measure a Year? The Martha Mitchell Effect, and Stranger at the Gate.
Oscar Nominations From India To Date
Apart from knowing Oscar Award Winners in India, you also need to know the Oscar nomination from India so far.
Year |
Nominee(s)/recipient(s) |
Film |
Category |
Result |
1958 (30th) |
Mother India |
Mother India |
Best Foreign Language Film |
Nominated |
1961 (33rd) |
Ismail Merchant |
The Creation of Woman |
Best Short Subject (Live Action) |
Nominated |
1969 (41st) |
Fali Bilimoria |
The House That Ananda Built |
Best Documentary (Short Subject) |
Nominated |
1978 (50th) |
Ishu Patel |
Bead Game |
Best Animated Short Film |
Nominated |
1979 (51st) |
K. K. Kapil |
An Encounter with Faces |
Best Documentary (Short Subject) |
Nominated |
1983 (55th) |
Bhanu Athaiya |
Gandhi |
Best Costume Design |
Won |
Ravi Shankar |
Best Original Score |
Nominated |
||
1987 (59th) |
Ismail Merchant |
A Room with a View |
Best Picture |
Nominated |
1989 (61st) |
Salaam Bombay! |
Salaam Bombay! |
Best Foreign Language Film |
Nominated |
1993 (65th) |
Ismail Merchant |
Howards End |
Best Picture |
Nominated |
1994 (66th) |
The Remains of the Day |
Nominated |
||
2002 (74th) |
Lagaan |
Lagaan |
Best Foreign Language Film |
Nominated |
2005 (77th) |
Ashvin Kumar |
Little Terrorist |
Best Short Subject (Live Action) |
Nominated |
2009 (81st) |
Resul Pookutty |
Slumdog Millionaire |
Best Sound Mixing |
Won |
Gulzar (Lyrics) |
Best Original Song (For “Jai Ho”) |
Won |
||
A. R. Rahman (Music) |
Won |
|||
Best Original Score |
Won |
|||
Best Original Song (For “O… Saya”) |
Nominated |
|||
2011 (83rd) |
127 Hours |
Best Original Score |
Nominated |
|
Best Original Song (For “If I Rise”) |
Nominated |
|||
2013 (85th) |
Bombay Jayashri (Lyrics) |
Life of Pi |
Best Original Song (For “Pi’s Lullaby”) |
Nominated |
2022 (94th) |
Rintu Thomas Sushmit Ghosh |
Writing with Fire |
Best Documentary Feature |
Nominated |
2023 (95th) |
Shaunak Sen Aman Mann |
All That Breathes |
Best Documentary Feature |
Nominated |
Kartiki Gonsalves Guneet Monga |
The Elephant Whisperers |
Best Documentary (Short Subject) |
Won |
|
M.M. Keeravani (Music) Chandrabose (Lyrics) |
RRR |
Best Original Song (For “Naatu Naatu”) |
Won |
Oscar Award Winners in India – FAQs
To date India has won 7 Oscars as Competitive awards, 1 as an Honorary award and 3 Scientific and technical awards, making a total of 8 Academy Awards in the bucket of India.
Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray was awarded an Honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1992.
The costume designer Bhanu Athaiya made history by becoming the first Indian to win an Academy Award for her work on the costumes for the movie Gandhi (1982), directed by Richard Attenborough.