India has had numerous individuals and films that have been nominated for or have received the Academy Awards, commonly referred to as the Oscars, across various categories. As of 2021, 13 Indians have been nominated, and eight have won Oscars, including in the scientific and technical category. During the 30th Academy Awards, Mehboob Khan’s 1957 Hindi-language film, “Mother India,” became India’s first submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film category.
The film was one of the five nominees and lost to the Italian film, “Nights of Cabiria” (1957) by a single vote. In 1982, the National Film Development Corporation of India was a co-producer of Richard Attenborough’s biographical film, “Gandhi.”
At the 55th Academy Awards, Bhanu Athaiya became the first Indian to receive an Academy Award for costume design, for her work on “Gandhi.” Ravi Shankar was also nominated for the same film, in the category of Best Original Score. As of 2022, only two Indian films, “Salaam Bombay!” (1988) and “Lagaan” (2001), apart from “Mother India,” have been nominated for the Oscars.
India Oscar Award Winners List
| Recipients | Category | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Bhanu Athaiya | Best Costume Design | 1983 |
| Satyajit Ray | Honorary Award | 1992 |
| Resul Pookutty | Best Sound Mixing | 2009 |
| Gulzar | Best Original Song | 2009 |
| A R Rahman | Best Original Score and Best Original Song | 2009 |
| Kartiki Gonsalves | Best Documentary Short | 2023 |
| MM Keeravani and Chandrabose | Best Original Song | 2023 |
List of Indian Oscar Winners 2023
Below is a roster of distinguished Indians who have been awarded Oscars.
Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga
Kartiki Gonsalves, an Indian-American short documentary filmmaker, made her directorial debut with The Elephant Whisperers in 2022. The film follows the story of a couple and Raghu, an orphaned baby elephant who they took care of. The movie was produced by Sikhya Entertainment and premiered at the DOC NYC Film Festival on November 9, 2022. On December 8, 2022, the movie was released worldwide for streaming on Netflix. It went on to win the Best Documentary Short Film at the Oscars 2023.
M.M Keeravani
M. M. Kreem, also known as Koduri Marakathamani Keeravani (Telugu: కోడూరి మరకతమణి కీరవాణి), is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, and lyricist. He mainly works in Telugu cinema and has won numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a LAFCA Award, a Critics’ Choice Movie Award, a National Film Award, eight Filmfare Awards, and eleven Nandi Awards.
In recognition of his contributions towards Indian cinema, he was honored with the Padma Shri in 2023.
Oscar Winners List 2023
Here’s the complete list of Oscar winners.
- Best Animated Feature Film
Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio’
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Ke Huy Quan in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
- Best Documentary Feature Film
‘Navalny’ by Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris
- Best Live Action Short Film
‘An Irish Goodbye’ by Tom Berkeley and Ross White
- Best Cinematography
‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ by James Friend
- Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Annemarie Bradley for ‘The Whale’
- Best Costume Design
Ruth Carter for ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’
- Best Animated Short Film
‘The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse’
- Best International Feature Film
‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ – Germany
- Best Documentary Short Film
‘The Elephant Whisperers’ by Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga
- Best Production Design
‘All Quiet on the Western Front’
- Best Music (Original Score)
Volker Bertelmann for ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’
- Best Visual Effects
‘Avatar: The Way of Water’
- Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ – written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
- Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
‘Women Talking’ – screenplay by Sarah Polley
- Best Music (Original Song)
‘Naatu Naatu’ from RRR: Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose
- Best Sound
‘Top Gun: Maverick’: Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor
- Best Film Editing
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ – Paul Rogers
- Best Directing
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
- Best Actor in a Leading Role
Brendan Fraser in ‘The Whale’
- Best Actress in a Leading Role
Michelle Yeoh in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
- Best Picture
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ – Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers