India has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (formerly Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film) since 1957, a year after the incorporation of the category. The award is given annually by the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. The "Best Foreign Language Film" category was not created until 1956; however, between 1947 and 1955, the academy presented a non-competitive Honorary Award for the best foreign language films released in the United States.
As of 2026, India has been nominated three times, for Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay! (1988), and Lagaan (2001).
Submissions Mother India (1967) the country's first submission, came close to winning but lost to Nights of Cabiria by a single vote. From the 59 films submitted, 36 of the which were Hindi films (including five Hindustani films, one Urdu film and one Hindi-Tamil bilingual film), three of which received nominations. Ten Tamil films (including one Hindi-Tamil bilingual film), four of each Malayalam and Marathi films, two of each Bengali and Gujarati films and one film of each Assamese and Telugu languages have been submitted.
Since 1984, India has not submitted a film on only one occasion; in 2003, the FFI controversially chose not make an entry as they felt no film would be in a position to compete with films from other nations.
In 2011, the jury of the 58th National Film Awards made a recommendation that the Best Film winners at the annual National Film Awards be chosen as the official entry.
Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray has represented India three times in this competition, the most by any director. As actors Kamal Haasan and Raghubir Yadav have been part of seven films submitted for the consideration—more than any other performer. One of Haasan's directorial effort was also submitted. Aamir Khan has represented India four times as an actor, including once as a director and four times as a producer; Lagaan (2001), which he produced and starred in, received a nomination.
Since the 2010s, the country has failed to submit a number of films considered favorites by critics to a nomination or win, especially: The Lunchbox (2013), RRR (2022) and All We Imagine as Light (2024). RRR went to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
The Film Federation of India (FFI) appoints a committee to choose one film among those released that year to be submitted as India's official entry. The chosen films, along with their English subtitles, are sent to the academy, where they are screened for the jury.
Below is a list of the films that have been submitted by India for review by the Academy for the award by year and the respective Academy Awards ceremony.
Year(Ceremony) Film title used in nomination Original title Language Director(s) Result 1957(30th) Mother India मदर इंडिया Hindi 1958(31st) Madhumati मधुमती 1959(32nd) অপুর সংসার Bengali 1962(35th) Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam साहिब बीबी और ग़ुलाम Hindi 1963(36th) Mahanagar মহানগর Bengali 1965(38th) गाइड Hindi 1966(39th) Amrapali आम्रपाली 1967(40th) आख़री ख़त 1968(41st) Majhli Didi मझली दीदी 1969(42nd) Deiva Magan தெய்வ மகன் Tamil 1971(44th) Reshma Aur Shera रेशमा और शेरा Hindi 1972(45th) Uphaar उपहार 1973(46th) Saudagar सौदागर 1974(47th) Garm Hava گرم ہوا Urdu 1977(50th) Manthan मंथन Hindi 1978(51st) शतरंज के खिलाड़ी Hindi 1980(53rd) Payal Ki Jhankaar पायल की झंकार Hindi 1984(57th) Saaransh सारांश 1985(58th) Saagar सागर 1986(59th) Swathi Muthyam స్వాతి ముత్యం Telugu 1987(60th) Nayakan நாயகன் Tamil 1988(61st) Salaam Bombay! सलाम बॉम्बे Hindi 1989(62nd) Parinda परिंदा 1990(63rd) Anjali அஞ்சலி Tamil 1991(64th) Henna हिना Hindi 1992(65th) Thevar Magan தேவர் மகன் Tamil 1993(66th) Rudaali रुदाली Hindi 1994(67th) Bandit Queen बैंडिट क्वीन 1995(68th) Kuruthipunal குருதிப்புனல் Tamil 1996(69th) Indian இந்தியன் 1997(70th) Guru ഗുരു Malayalam 1998(71st) Jeans ஜீன்ஸ் Tamil 1999(72nd) Earth 1947: अर्थ Hindi 2000(73rd) Hey Ram ஹே ராம்हे राम Tamil, Hindi 2001(74th) Lagaan लगान Hindi 2002(75th) Devdas देवदास 2004(77th) श्वास Marathi 2005(78th) Paheli पहेली Hindi 2006(79th) Rang De Basanti रंग दे बसंती 2007(80th) Eklavya: The Royal Guard एकलव्य: दी रॉयल गार्ड 2008(81st) Taare Zameen Par तारे ज़मीन पर 2009(82nd) Harishchandra's Factory हरिश्चंद्राची फॅक्टरी Marathi 2010(83rd) Peepli Live पीपली लाइव Hindi 2011(84th) Abu, Son of Adam ആദാമിന്റെ മകൻ അബു Malayalam 2012(85th) Barfi! बर्फी! Hindi 2013(86th) The Good Road ધી ગુડ રોડ Gujarati Gyan Korrea 2014(87th) Liar's Dice लायर्स डाइस Hindi 2015(88th) Court कोर्ट Marathi 2016(89th) Visaranai விசாரணை Tamil 2017(90th) Newton न्यूटन Hindi 2018(91st) Village Rockstars ৱিলে'জ ৰকষ্টাৰ্চ Assamese 2019(92nd) Gully Boy गली बॉय Hindi 2020(93rd) Jallikattu ജല്ലിക്കട്ട് Malayalam 2021(94th) Pebbles கூழாங்கல் Tamil P. S. Vinothraj 2022(95th) Last Film Show છેલ્લો શો Gujarati 2023(96th) 2018 2018: എവരിവൺ ഇസ് എ ഹീറോ Malayalam 2024(97th) Laapataa Ladies लापता लेडीज़ Hindi 2025(98th) Homebound होमबाउंड Neeraj Ghaywan 2026(99th)Gondhal गोंधळMarathiSantosh Davakhar
See also List of Indian Academy Award winners and nominees List of Academy Award–winning foreign-language films List of Academy Award winners and nominees for Best International Feature Film List of countries by number of Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
Notes
References General
Specific
External links The Official Academy Awards Database IMDb Academy Awards Page