Oscars 2025: India's History With The Oscars, And Where It Stands Now In 2025

India and Indian cinema hasn't really managed to break through the international barriers yet for this year, and the country's lacking presence during this year's Oscars only adds to that feeling. While there are some categories in which Indian films or films taking place in India have managed to get nominations, 'Laapata Ladies' which was the official submission by India for 'Best International Feature' did not get the nomination.

While things may seem bleak for Indian cinema at the Oscars, there have been plenty of moments in the award ceremony's history where Indian cinema has had the chance to be celebrated for its accomplishments. It started all the way back in 1958, during the 30th Academy Awards, where the first ever Indian film 'Mother India' was nominated for 'Best Foreign Language Film'. While it lost to the Italian film 'Nights of Cabiria', the epic drama film directed by Mehboob Khan was the first time in history where the Oscars recognised the potential in Indian cinema.

Since then, the Oscars nominated a few movies here and there for their awards such as 'The House That Ananda Built' by Fali Bilimoria for 'Best Documentary (Short Subject)' in 1969, and ' An Encounter with Faces' by K. K. Kapil for 'Best Documentary' in 1979. But it wasn't until 1983 that the first Oscar was won by an Indian film. It was the film 'Gandhi', made in 1982 by John Briley and Richard Attenborough, though the Oscar award that the film won was for 'Best Costume Design' and it was won by designer and painter Bhanu Athaiya.

Since then, some notable victories for India during the Oscars have been with 'Slumdog Millionnaire' and 'RRR', with both movies winning Oscar awards in different music categories and giving India widespread recognition in the international filmmaking industry. Another documentary, called 'The Elephant Whisperers' by Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga also won the 'Best Documentary (Short Subject)' award in 2023.

As for 2025, while no particular Indian film is causing much of a buzz, there is still hope for India to get some recognition with the films 'Anuja' and 'I Am Ready, Warden' getting nominations for the 'Best Live Action Short Film' and 'Best Documentary Short Film' categories respectively.