With the 88th Academy Awards closer than ever, we look back at the movies - and people - that made India proud over the year.
Published: Fri 19 Feb 2016, 11:00 PM
Last updated: Sat 20 Feb 2016, 12:57 PM
You know what the best part of the Academy Awards is? It's truly international. Not only is it broadcast in over 200 countries and streamed online, any film-producing country can enter their offerings in the 'Best Foreign Film' category.
India, which produces more films than even Hollywood, volume-wise, has not quite made a resounding impact, but over the years, many Indian films and personalities - and India-themed films - have made the occasional cut. Here's celebrating the moments that made Indians the world over rejoice.
1958: Mother India
The epic drama directed by Mehboob Khan was a benchmark in Hindi cinema and set the tone for how movies would be made for the next 50 years in the country. Starring Nargis on the lead, tThe film cleverly used her role as a self-sacrificing mother as a metaphor for India as a nation after Independence, and was a critical and commercial success - but not just in India.
The movie is regularly listed among the top films in world cinema, but its greatest form of recognition came when it bagged India's first nomination at the academy award for best Foreign Language Film. The film came close to winning as well, but Federico Fellini's Nights of Cabiria beat it by a single vote.
1983: Gandhi
The biographical film may not be an Indian movie, but it still brought India into the limelight by depicting the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the country's Independence movement during the british raj. The film was directed by richard attenborough and starred ben Kingsley as Gandhi, and was met with positive reviews worldwide.
Not only was it the 12th highest-grossing film in North america that year, it was nominated for the academy awards in a whopping 11 categories and won eight - including best Director for richard attenbor-ough and best actor for ben Kingsley.
Moreover, Indian sitar maestro Pandit ravi Shankar was nominated for best Original Music Score and bhanu athaiya won the academy award for best Costume Design, becoming the first Indian to ever win an Oscar. Now that's what we call a landslide victory.
1989: Salaam Bombay!
Mira Nair's 1988 classic touched audiences around the world with its heartfelt depiction of the day-to-day lives of street children in Mumbai.
The hard-hitting film invoked the sympathies of the audience and received international recognition by winning the audience awards at the Cannes Film Festival, amongst numerous other awards, and also by being listed as 'The best 1,000 movies every made' by The New York Times. It was India's second film submission to be nominated for an academy award for best Foreign Film.
1992: Satyajit Ray
The bengali filmmaker is still widely considered one of the best of the 20th century, and has directed 36 films besides being a prominent fiction writer, illustrator and music composer. Many of his films went on to be internationally acclaimed, such as his first film Pather Panchali which won 11 international prizes including the best Human Document award at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival.
In recognition of his talent, the academy of Motion Picture arts and Sciences awarded him an Honorary Oscar in 1992 - making him the first Indian director to win an Oscar. audrey Hepburn, one of ray's favourite actresses, presented the award speech on the day, because his failing health did not allow him to attend the event. His acceptance speech was made via live feed from the hospital bed.
2002: Lagaan
The epic sports drama was set in the time of India's colonisation and cleverly ropes in the country's favourite game, cricket. Starring (and produced by) aamir Khan, the plot depicts a small village oppressed by the high tax system, that strikes an unusual deal against their british rulers - win a game of cricket and be free of taxes forever.
The patriotic film was one of the biggest blockbusters of 2001 and was listed in TIME magazine's "The all-TIMe 25 best Sports Movies". It's little wonder it became India's third film to be nominated for an academy award for best Foreign Language Film. It lost the crown to No Man's Land.
2009: Slumdog Millionaire
It is impossible not to have heard about this film. Slumdog Millionaire is essentially a british film, but it is hard to notice because everything about the movie glorifies the unpredictable-but-tough life in the slums of India. The feel-good flick follows Jamal Malik, who was born into the slums of Mumbai, but rises through a series of unfathomable events and sheer luck.
With some funny and some heartfelt moments in between, the film was widely-acclaimed and nominated for 10 academy awards in 2009, out of which it won eight. Indian film sound designer Resul Pookutty took home the academy award for best Sound Mixing, while Gulzar and AR Rahman won the award for best Original Song for Jai Ho. AR Rahman also won an Oscar for best Original Score, making him the first Indian to win two Oscars.
2013: Life of Pi
Life of Pi is an american drama directed by ang Lee, but has strong Indian ties because of its mostly Indian cast including Irrfan Khan and Tabu, and its plot. The story follows a young Indian boy who is stranded on a lifeboat with a tiger when a shipwreck kills the rest of his family.
With its strong visuals and deep message, Life of Pi received critical and commercial success. at the academy awards, it garnered a whop-ping 11 nominations, out of which it won three, including best director for ang Lee and best Original Song for Indian singer bombay Jayashri ramnath.
THIS YEAR.
Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, who has long since shot to international fame and is currently headlining the american series Quantico, will be presenting an award at the Oscars. This places her alongside interna-tional stars like Julianne Moore and reese Witherspoon.
"I am definitely excited. There are such few presenters and to be able to share the same stage with them.feels amazing. It's great to be counted among my peers," she said in an interview with Hindustan Times
iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
