New Delhi: As the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gears up to announce the recipients of its honors this year at the 95th edition of the Academy Awards on March 12 (5.30 PM IST, Monday), Indian cinema enthusiasts are in anticipation of an elusive Oscar. coming home.
In the year 2009, the ‘Mozart of Madras’, AR Rahman received the Oscar for Best Original Score for the Danny Boyle directed ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ which went on to win eight Academy Awards.
‘Slumdog Millionaire’ also won Resul Pookutty an Oscar for Best Sound Mixing, while lyricists Gulzar and AR Rahman jointly won the award for Best Original Song (‘Jai Ho’), taking India’s count to three for the film .
The year 2023 brought with it some good news as India hit the headlines with three Academy Award nominations – SS Rajamouli’s RRR (for Best Song – ‘Naatu Naatu’) with MM Keeravani for music and Chandrabose for lyrics; Aman Mann and Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes for Best Documentary Feature Film and Guneet Monga and Kartiki Gonsalves’ The Elephant Whispers for Best Documentary Short Film.
India’s official Oscar entry, ‘Chello Show’ or ‘Last Picture Show’ could not make it to the final slate in the Best International Feature Film category.
Bhanu Athaiya was the first Indian to win the Academy Award for Best Costume Design in 1983 for Richard Attenborough’s 1982 film ‘Gandhi’.
Subsequently, in 1992, iconic filmmaker Satyajit Ray was honored with an Honorary Academy Award.
Presenting the award to Ray, who received it from his hospital bed in Kolkata, noted actress Audrey Hepburn described his work as “a rare mastery of the art of motion pictures and his profound humanism, which was appreciated by filmmakers and audiences”. But has had a lasting impact.” World”.
Ray is the only Indian till date to win an Honorary Academy Award.
However, India’s association with the Academy Awards goes back to 1958, when Mehboob Khan’s Mother India became the first Indian film to be nominated for the Academy Awards in its 30th edition under the Best Foreign Language Film category.
The iconic film is a portrayal of crushing poverty by a widow while she struggles to raise her sons with dignity. It stars Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar in lead roles.
Since then, India has had a handful of nominations for the coveted laurel.
1961: Ismail Merchant’s ‘The Creation of Woman’ nominated for Best Short Subject (Live Action)
1969: Nominated for Best Documentary (Short Subject) for Fali Billimoria’s The House That Anand Built
1978: Ishu Patel’s ‘Bead Games’ was nominated for Best Animated Short Film.
1979: Nomination for Best Documentary (Short Subject) for KK Kapil’s ‘An Encounter with Faces’
1983: Pandit Ravi Shankar was nominated for Best Original Score for ‘Gandhi’
1987: Ismail Merchant’s ‘A Room with a View’ nominated for Best Picture
1989: Mira Nair’s ‘Salaam Bombay!’ was nominated for Best Foreign Film
1993: Ismail Merchant’s ‘Howards End’ nominated for Best Picture
1994: Ismail Merchant’s ‘The Remains of the Day’ nominated for Best Picture
2002: Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film for Aamir Khan starrer Lagaan
2005: Nominated for Best Short Subject (Live Action) for Ashvin Kumar’s Little Terrorist
2009: Nominated for Best Original Song for AR Rahman’s ‘O…Saya’ from the film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
2011: AR Rahman’s ‘If I Rise’ from the film ‘127 Hours’ nominated for Best Original Song
2013: Bombay Jayshree’s ‘Pi Ki Lori’ from the film ‘Life of Pi’ was nominated for Best Original Song
2022: Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s ‘Writing with Fire’ nominated for Best Documentary Feature
It is important to note that the awards and recognitions at large reflect the quality of work that entries are known for, good filmmaking in all its aspects that, despite its limited reach, also brings it to international forums of repute. .
While the fairness of the Oscars remains a matter of debate, it is argued that the Academy Awards do not always accurately reflect the best films of the year, as many critically acclaimed films miss out on the award.
But surely, the impressive recognition by the Academy Awards will add another feather to the cap for Indian filmmakers for their excellent works.