Oscar Award 2023: Why Indian Films Do Not Get Oscar Award?

Oscar Award for India has always been a dream which has been fulfilled in a true sense this year due to which the entire Indian film industry is in jubilation. There was a wave of happiness in India when Karthik Gonsalves and producer Guneet Monga’s film ‘Elephant Whispers’ won Oscar in the short documentary category. Also, the song Natu Natu from SS Rajamouli’s Telugu film ‘RRR’, was awarded at the 95th Academy Awards ceremony on March 12 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. This song, written by Chandrabose and composed by MM Kirwani, has also been awarded the prestigious Golden Globe Award a few days back. However, Delhi’s young filmmaker Saunak Sen’s famous film ‘All That Breathe’ was nominated in the final round of the top 5 in the Best Documentary category, which in itself was a big deal.

But this film did not get the award

It is also no less interesting that about many Indian films like ‘Kashmir Files’, their producers-directors propagated false news that their films have been shortlisted for Oscar Awards. Since there is an atmosphere of terrible ignorance and carelessness in the Indian media regarding international festivals of cinema, the news of press conferences of people like Anupam Kher and Vivek Agnihotri was prominently published not only in Hindi and linguistically but also in the English media. Although, that was not true. It is like an Indian citizen applying for Padma Award and if his application is accepted then he starts saying that his name has been shortlisted. In fact, in the final round of the Oscar Awards, there are usually five shortlisted films in each category that are nominated for the final competition. Secondly, in the category of Best Foreign Language Film, every country shortlists one film from there and sends it for the Oscar. Now this category is called the ‘Best International Film’ category. This time Gujarati film ‘Chhello Show’ by Pan Nalin, an Indian filmmaker based in Paris, was sent from India in the same category. Still, India is waiting for an Oscar award in this category. Although, earlier Danny Boyle’s film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and Richard Attenborough’s ‘Gandhi’, made in India, have received many Oscar awards, both these films were technically British films. B ut due to these films Bhanu Athaiya, Rasool Pokutty, AR Rahman, and Gulzar could get Oscar Awards.

Also Read: A Moment Of Glory For Us: Rajya Sabha Praises Creators Of ‘Naatu Naatu’, ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ On Their Oscar Wins

Best International Film Category

The five films that were shortlisted and nominated this time in the Best International Film category were ‘Close’ by Lucas Dhont from Belgium, ‘EO’ by Jerzy Skolimowski from Poland, ‘The Quiet Girl’ by Com Bairid from Ireland, ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ by Eduard Berger of Germany and ‘Argentina 1985’ by Santiago Mitre of Argentina. The German film ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ received the Oscar Award, which is an anti-war film.

Germany’s Eduard Berger’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is the true self-confessions of a German soldier in World War I. The film is based on Erich Maria Remarque’s world-famous novel of the same name published in 1929, which was banned during Hitler’s time and was torched in the streets by the Nazi army. The film’s protagonist Paul describes the disorientation of German soldiers in battle after the end of World War I. The heart-wrenching story and narrative throw light on the futility of war.

India’s victory at Oscars

This time at the 95th Academy Awards ceremony, after two Indian films won Oscars in the Best Short Documentary and Best Original Song categories, an old debate has been revived as to why no Indian feature film has received the Oscar award so far. Also, the question was why the presence of Indian films in film festivals is negligible at the international level. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, an American broadcasting company, has been presenting the Oscars every year for the last 90 years. Indian films have participated in the competition every year since 1957 when the Oscar Award for Best Foreign Language Film was introduced.

Out of hundreds of films submitted from all over the world, only five films reach the final round and are nominated for the final award. Unfortunately, only three Indian films made it to the final round in the last sixty years – Mehboob Khan’s “Mother India” (1958), Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay” (1989), and Ashutosh Gowariker-Aamir Khan’s “Lagaan” (2002). It is said about Mother India that by only one vote the film lost to Italy’s famous filmmaker Federico Fellini’s “Knights of Cabiria”. It is also said that Mother India’s typical Indian life values and mother’s idea of shooting her own son didn’t go down well with American audiences. Salaam Bombay was defeated by Denmark’s Ville Auguste’s “Pelle the Conqueror”, while it had enough poverty and sex content to woo Oscar voters. Lagaan was beaten by Serbia’s “No Man’s Land” by Denis Tanovic.

The Indians who have got Oscar Awards are also because they have worked with foreign filmmakers. Bhanu Athaiya has been awarded with the Oscar Award for Best Costume Design in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi in 1983 and AR Rahman for Best Sound, Gulzar for Best Song, and Rasool Pokutty for Best Sound Mixing in Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire”. The story of India and the Oscars ends here.

Path to Academy Awards

The doors of Academy Awards can also be opened for Hindi films, provided the right and best films are sent and the government provides sufficient funds for their promotion in America. Film Federation of India, a body of filmmakers in India, selects a film to be sent to the Oscar Awards by forming a separate selection committee, which sometimes gets back at us as our films are out of the competition in the first round itself. In 1974, MS Sathyu’s film “Garam Hawa” was stuck on the censor board for eleven months. When it premiered in Paris, it was selected at the Cannes Film Festival and then went on to win the Oscar. When the invitation came to Sathyu Saheb from the Academy, he himself did not have the money to go to America, so how would he promote the film. This is the story of most of the Indian filmmakers, they need double the amount of money in their film production for the promotion of their films in America for the Oscar award which they do not have. The reason for this is that there is no jury for the Oscar Awards. The Oscar Awards are decided by the votes of about seven thousand people associated with cinema. Out of those seven thousand people, the more people you are able to show your film to, the more are chances of winning the award. For this, big night parties, and special screenings have to be organized which cost a lot.

Facts about Academy Awards

Films from all over the world that reach the final round and earn nominations in the Best Foreign Language Film category are usually those that have made a splash at the world’s most prestigious film festivals, such as Cannes, Berlin, and Venice. That’s why there is no special need for the promotion of these films in America because most of the voters have already seen these films in these film festivals. There is no special presence of Indian films in these international film festivals, so there is a need for their promotion. For example, in 2018 Mexico’s film “Roma” won Best Film at the Venice Film Festival, and Japan’s “Cup Lifter” won Best Film at the Cannes Film Festival, so their producers were confident that they would get nominated in the final round and this happened too. South Korea’s Bong Joon Ho’s film “Parasite” also won the Best Film Award at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Austria’s Michael Heineke’s “Amor” also won the Palme d’Or for Best Film at the first Cannes Film Festival and later won an Oscar. The history of cinema is replete with examples of films that won Best Film awards at the Cannes, Berlin, and Venice Film Festivals and went on to win the Oscars the following year. Therefore, it is important for India that its films participate in these international film festivals in a big way.

For countries like India, which neither do anything amazing in the Olympics nor get Nobel Prizes from here, winning the Oscar Award can become an easy way to register their presence on the world stage. In the past years, countries like Jordan (Thebe), Colombia (Embrace of the Serpent), and Iran (A Separation) have done this. This is the most powerful medium to take the culture of our country to the global audience, which makes the country proud all over the world. It is shameful that India, which produces about two thousand films every year, has not been able to win a single Oscar Award to date. The condition in China is even worse, where only two films have reached the final round of Oscar Awards, from Japan (12), and Israel (10), while eight films each from Mexico, Taiwan, and Hong Kong have reached the final round to receive the nomination.