India has submitted films for the Oscars, for Best International Feature Film since 1957. The Film Federation of India (FFI) appoints a committee to choose one film among those released that year to be submitted as India’s official entry to the Academy for a nomination for “Best Foreign Language Film” the following year.
The 1957 Hindi film Mother India was India’s first submission. This was the only film, that came close to winning an Oscar from India but lost to Nights of Cabiria by a single vote. As of 2022, only three Indian films—Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay! (1988) and Lagaan (2001)—have been nominated for the award, after being sent from India as an official selection.
As of 2022, India has sent 55 films to the competition. 34 of which were Hindi films, three of which received nominations. Ten Tamil films and three of each Malayalam and Marathi films were submitted. Two Bengali and three Gujarati films and one film from each Assamese and Telugu languages have been submitted.
Let’s take a look at the list of all the movies starting from 1957, that were submitted to the Oscars from India.
1. Mother India (1957)
2. Madhumati (1958)
3. Apur Sansar (1959)
4. Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962)
5. Mahanagar (1963)
6. Guide (1965)
7. Amrapali (1966)
8. Aakhri Khat (1967)
9. Majhli Didi (1968)
10. Deiva Magan (1969)
12. Uphaar (1972)
13. Saudagar (1973)
14. Garam Hawa (1974)
15. Manthan (1977)
16. Shatranj Ke Khilari (1978)
17. Payal Ki Jhankaa (1980)
18. Saaransh (1984)
19. Saagar (1985)
20. Swati Mutyam (1986)
21. Nayakan (1987)
22. Salaam Bombay! (1988)
23. Parinda (1989)
24. Anjali (1990)
25. Henna (1991)
26. Thevar Magan (1992)
27. Rudaali (1993)
28. Bandit Queen (1994)
29. Kuruthipunal (1995)
30. Indian (1996)
31. Guru (1997)
32. Jeans (1998)
33. 1947: Earth (1999)
34. Hey Ram (2000)
35. Lagaan (2001)
36. Devdas (2002)
37. Shwaas (2004)
38. Paheli (2005)
39. Rang De Basanthi (2006)
40. Eklavya: The Royal Guard (2007)
41. Taare Zameen Par (2008)
42. Harishchandrachi Factory (2009)
43. Peepli Live (2010)
44. Adaminte Makan Abu (2011)
45. Barfi (2012)
46. The Good Road (2013)
47. Liar’s Dice (2014)
48. Court (2015)
49. Visaranai (2016)
50. Newton (2017)
51. Village Rockstars (2018)
52. Gully Boy (2019)
53. Jallikattu (2020)
54. Pebbles (2021)
55. Chhello Show (2022)
