Best Official Oscar Entry From India
India has submitted 50 films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Only 3 of them got nominated for the award, but none of them were able to win. Here are the submissions with a minimum of 1,000 votes and an IMDb rating of 7.0 or above.
Which movie do you think was the best bet for winning the Best International Feature Film?
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Which movie do you think was the best bet for winning the Best International Feature Film?
Discuss the poll here
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- DirectorMehboob KhanStarsNargisSunil DuttRajendra Kumar TuliIn this melodrama, a poverty-stricken woman raises her sons through many trials and tribulations. But no matter the struggles, she always sticks to her own moral code.Title used for nomination: Mother India
Received Oscar Nomination - DirectorBimal RoyStarsDilip KumarVyjayanthimalaJohnny WalkerA young man takes shelter in a mansion when a landslide blocks his route to the railway station. Then, he finds the mansion familiar and soon learns about the story of his previous birth.Title used for nomination: Madhumati
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeSharmila TagoreAlok ChakravartyThis final installment in Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy follows Apu's life as an orphaned adult aspiring to be a writer.Title used for nomination: The World of Apu
- DirectorAbrar AlviStarsMeena KumariGuru DuttRehman KhanA lowly servant, Bhootnath gets close to the wife of his employer and narrates her story through his eyes and perspective.Title used for nomination: Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsAnil ChatterjeeMadhavi MukherjeeJaya BachchanLife at home changes when a house-wife from a middle-class, conservative family in Calcutta gets a job as a saleswoman.Title used for nomination: Metropolis
- DirectorVijay AnandStarsDev AnandWaheeda RehmanLeela ChitnisWhen mistaken to be a sage by some villagers, an ex-tour guide reflects on his past and lost love to search for spiritual wisdom to guide the villagers.Title used for nomination: The Guide
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSanjeev KumarSaeed JaffreyShabana AzmiIn 1856, two obsessed noblemen ignore everything while playing chess and fail to notice British rule extending into their Indian province.Title used for nomination: The Chess Players
- DirectorMahesh BhattStarsAnupam KherRohini HattangadiSoni RazdanAn old couple lend a room on rent after recent death of the bread earner of the family, their only son. A budding actress starts living with them, who is in love with a local politician's only son. The movie shows what later ensues.Title used for nomination: Saaransh
- DirectorMani RatnamStarsKamal HaasanSaranya PonvannanDelhi GaneshA common man's struggles against a corrupt police force put him on the wrong side of the law. He becomes a don, who is loved and respected by many, but his growing power and influence exact a heavy toll.Title used for nomination: Nayakan
- DirectorMira NairStarsShafiq SyedAnjaanAmrit PatelYoung Krishna struggles to survive among the drug dealers, pimps, and prostitutes in the back alleys and gutters of India.Title used for nomination: Salaam Bomaby!
Received Oscar Nomination - DirectorVidhu Vinod ChopraStarsJackie ShroffAnil KapoorNana PatekarA man's friend, a police officer, is assassinated by gangsters in broad daylight. He discovers that his elder brother works in the same gang and decides to avenge his friend's death by infiltrating the gang.Title used for nomination: Parinda
- DirectorMani RatnamStarsShamiliRevathiRaghuvaranAfter a few years, Chitra learns that her child, who was believed to be dead, is alive but is suffering from a mental illness. However, her family faces many challenges while looking after her child.Title used for nomination: Anjali
- DirectorBharathanStarsKamal HaasanShivaji GanesanNassarThe urbane son of a village chieftain struggles between his personal aspirations and those of his family.Title used for nomination: Thevar Magan
- DirectorShekhar KapurStarsSeema BiswasNirmal PandeyRajesh VivekThe story of the bandit queen Phoolan Devi who was sent to prison in 1983 and got free in 1994.Title used for nomination: Bandit Queen
- DirectorP.C. SreeramStarsKamal HaasanArjun SarjaNassarSuave and scintillating, this fast-paced action thriller follows the adventures and investigations of a group of honest police officers, who go undercover to bring down a terror network.Title used for nomination: Kuruthipunal
- DirectorS. ShankarStarsKamal HaasanSukanyaManisha KoiralaA veteran freedom fighter enraged with the rising crime and corruption in the society murders all the wrong doers one by one using an ancient martial arts technique.Title used for nomination: Indian
- DirectorRajiv AnchalStarsMohanlalSuresh GopiMadhupalSituations turn a man who believes in secularism into an extremist. He plots to bomb a monastery where the survivors of a riot take refuge.Title used for nomination: Guru
- DirectorDeepa MehtaStarsAamir KhanNandita DasRahul KhannaIt's 1947 and the borderlines between India and Pakistan are being drawn. A young girl witnesses tragedy as her ayah (nanny) is caught between the love of two men and the rising tide of political and religious violence.Title used for nomination: Earth
- DirectorKamal HaasanStarsKamal HaasanShah Rukh KhanRani MukerjiSaketh Ram's wife is raped and killed during direct action day riots in Calcutta. He is convinced that Mahatma Gandhi is responsible for all the problems happening in the country and sets out to kill him.Title used for nomination: Hey Ram
- DirectorAshutosh GowarikerStarsAamir KhanRaghubir YadavGracy SinghThe people of a small village in Victorian India stake their future on a game of cricket against their ruthless British rulers.Title used for nomination: Lagaan
Received Oscar Nomination - DirectorSanjay Leela BhansaliStarsShah Rukh KhanAishwarya Rai BachchanMadhuri DixitAfter his wealthy family prohibits him from marrying the woman he is in love with, Devdas Mukherjee's life spirals further and further out of control as he takes up alcohol and a life of vice to numb the pain.Title used for nomination: Devdas
- DirectorSandeep SawantStarsArun NalawadeAshwin ChitaleSandeep KulkarniThis story is about how an old man tried to show his grandson the preciousness and beauty of life in a no win situation such as cancer. It is about keeping a positive attitude towards life.Title used for nomination: The Breath
- DirectorRakeysh Omprakash MehraStarsAamir KhanSoha Ali KhanSiddharthThe story of six young Indians who assist an English woman to film a documentary on the freedom fighters from their past, and the events that lead them to relive the long-forgotten saga of freedom.Title used for nomination: Rand De Basanti
- DirectorAamir KhanAmole GupteStarsDarsheel SafaryAamir KhanTisca ChopraA young boy is thought to be nothing but a lazy troublemaker until the new art teacher has the patience and compassion to discover the real problem behind his struggles in school.Title used for nomination: Like Stars On Earth
- DirectorParesh MokashiStarsNandu MadhavVibhawari DeshpandeAtharva KarveIn 1913 India's cinema industry is born from Dadasaheb Phalke's efforts to make Raja Harishchandra (1913), India's first feature-length B&W silent film.Title used for nomination: Harishchandra's Factory
