Ahead of Oscars 2023, a glance at India's Oscar winners through the years

Academy Award, commonly referred to as an Oscar, is an annual awards ceremony hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize excellence in cinematic achievements in the film industry. The nomination is a major honor, as it acknowledges the film’s artistic and technical quality. Winners of the award are given a golden statuette, commonly known as the Oscar. The categories for which an Oscar can be awarded include Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Score, among many others.

The song “Naatu Naatu” from the 2022 movie RRR (Rise Road Revolt) has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song and this is the first Telugu song to receive an Oscar nomination. It has been shot in Ukraine before the war. It was written by Chandrabose and voice provided by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava. The AMPAS recognized the work of songwriter Chandrabose and composer MM Keeravani who have crafted an original piece of music and added it to the nominations for the 95th Academy Awards. The award will be presented to the lyricist and musician. We will have to wait and see whether it will the award or not. Meanwhile, ahead of Oscars 2023, let’s have a look at the notable Indian Oscar recipients so far.

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Bhanu Athaiya was a costume designer who won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for the 1982 film Gandhi. She was the first Indian to win an Oscar and the first Indian woman to win an Academy Award. She was born in 1929 in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, and started her career in Mumbai's Hindi film industry in the 1940s. She worked on some of the most iconic Hindi films of the time, such as Mughal-e-Azam and Waqt and was known for her intricate and detailed designs. She went on to collaborate with directors and producers on a variety of international projects, including the Hollywood film, Lagaan. She later returned to India and continued to work in the film industry until her death in 2020.

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Satyajit Ray is widely regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. Ray was born in Calcutta into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature. Starting his career as a commercial artist, he was drawn into independent filmmaking after meeting French filmmaker Jean Renoir and viewing Vittorio De Sica's Italian neorealist film Bicycle Thieves (1948) during a visit to London. He received an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in 1992. He was the first Indian film-maker and the only Indian to receive the honour. Ray was known for his humanistic approach to cinema and his films received international acclaim. His most famous works include Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956), Apur Sansar (1959), The Music Room (1958), Charulata (1964) and The Chess Players (1977).

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Known for his skills such as sound designing, editing and mixing, Resul Pookutty has won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for his work on the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire. He has also won several other awards, including the BAFTA Award for Best Sound, and the National Film Award for Best Audiography. He has worked on more than 200 films in various languages, and has also done sound design for several international films. He has worked with many acclaimed filmmakers and actors such as Danny Boyle, Steven Spielberg, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Amitabh Bachchan. He is considered to be one of the most successful sound designers in Indian cinema.

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A.R. Rahman is not just a musician, he is also a singer, songwriter, and producer. Rahman has composed music for over a hundred feature films in various languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, and Marathi. He is best known for his work in the Indian film industry, having composed for some of the biggest and most successful films, including Roja (1992), Dil Se.. (1998), Taal (1999), Lagaan (2001), Rang De Basanti (2006), Jodhaa Akbar (2008), Delhi-6 (2009), and Rockstar (2011). He has won numerous awards, including two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards, seventeen Filmfare Awards South, and seven Filmfare Awards East. He has also been awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award, in 2010.

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Noted Indian lyricist Gulzar is known for his works in Hindi cinema, including the films Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, Maachis, Chupke Chupke, and Angoor. He wrote the lyrics for the songs of many films, including Aandhi, Maachis, Khamoshi, Parichay, and Silsila. Gulzar has won numerous awards, including the Academy Award, the Padma Bhushan, the Padma Shri, the Sahitya Akademi Award, the National Film Award, and the Filmfare Award. He has also written several books of poetry, including the popular Ghazals and Nazms, as well as several volumes of short stories, including Panchven Pankh and Dhuan.

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