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From Priyanka Chopra to Mother India: There’s more to India’s Oscar journey than you think
The news of Priyanka Chopra to be one of the presenters at the 88th Academy Awards has created quite a buzz in the country and overseas. With this incredible move, Piggy Chops has set a big stepping stone for the Indian subcontinent. However, India’s Oscar journey has a long untagged past. Let’s dig out the sung-unsung sagas of the country’s Oscar trail.
1. Back in 1957, Mehboob Khan’s Mother India was India’s first movie to make a cut to the final five in the Best Foreign Film category, but failed to get the golden man back to the homeland.
2. The next year, Bimal Roy’s Madhumati, starring Dilip Kumar and Vyjanthimala, was sent as the Indian official entry in the Best Foreign Language category. But, it couldn’t make it to the final five.
3.With great hope, Satyajit Ray’s The World of Apu that had taken the film fraternity by a storm had been left in the cold by the Oscar jury in 1959.
4.India got its first chance to bring the golden man home in 1989, when costume designer Bhanu Athaiya shared the Best Costume Design award with John Mollo for their work in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi.
5.In 1990, another Indian film — A Passage To India — depicting our country, was talk of the town at the Oscars. It bagged two trophies out of 11 nominations.
6.But, an Indian movie got a chance to make the final cut only after three decades with Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay in 1988. Unfortunately enough, we lost the award to Pelle The Conqueror.
7.In 2001, India was hugely banking upon Aamir Khan’s Lagaan, but the Oscar went to Bosnian No Man's Land.
8.In 2009, Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, another foreign film set in Indian backdrop invaded the Oscars nominations and scored eight Academy Awards.
9.In the same year, India experienced its proudest moments when AR Rahman won two trophies for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for the Danny Boyle’s masterpiece. Not just this, sound designer Resul Pookutty shared the Sound Mixing prize with Richard Pryke and Ian Tapp for the same movie.
10.Amidst the noise, in the same incredible year, Smile Pinki won Best Short Documentary.
11.Rahman participated in the Oscar race again in 2011 with two nominations for Danny Boyle's 127 Hours. However, he failed to taste the rich taste of success again at the Academy awards.
