From 'Saaransh' to 'Barfi': India's past Oscar entries in Foreign Language Film category

Sep 23, 2012 13:48pm

Directed by Mahesh Bhatt, 'Saaransh' was Indian official entry to the Oscars in 1984.
Ramesh Sippy's 'Saagar'(1985) was also sent to the Oscars.
Directed by K Vishwanath, 'Swathi Muthyam'(1986) was the first Telugu film to be sent to the Oscars.
'Nayagan'(1987) was the second Tamil film to compete at the Oscars after 'Deiva Magan'(1969).
Directed by Mira Nair, 'Salaam Bombay'(1988) was the first Indian film to reach the nomination stage.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 'Parinda'(1989) was also sent to the Oscars.
Mani Ratnam got lucky again with 'Anjali' in 1990.
Randhir Kapoor's directorial venture 'Henna' was sent in 1991.
'Thevar Magan'(1992) saw the power-packed performances from Kamal Haasan and Sivaji Ganesan.
'Rudaali'(1993) is still remembered for its soul stirring music.
Everyone had high hopes from Shekhar Kapur's 'Bandit Queen'(1994) but it didn't reach the nomination stage.
Directed by PC Sreeram, 'Kuruthipunal'(1995) was a popular Tamil film.
Directed by S Shankar, 'Indian'(1996) was another Tamil film to reach Oscars.
Directed by Rajiv Anchal, 'Guru'(1997) was the first Malayalam film to enter the Oscars.
Shankar's 'Jeans'(1998) got commercial success but it was not equally successful at the Academy Awards.
Directed by Deepa Mehta, 'Earth'(1999) was praised for its serious take on partition.
'Hey Ram'(2000) was released in Hindi and Tamil.
Probably, 'Lagaan'(2001) is India's strongest entry to the Oscars till date.
Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 'Devdas'(2002) was also selected for the Oscars.
'Shwaas'(2004) was the first Marathi film to make its presence felt at the Oscars.
Directed by Amol Palekar, 'Paheli'(2005) had Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherji in the lead roles.
'Rang De Basanti'(2006) got more popular in India than overseas.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 'Eklavya-The Royal Gaurd'(2007) didn't reach the nomination stage.
'Taare Zammen Par'(2008) was directed by Aamir Khan.
'Harishchandra's Factory'(2009) fetched a lot of respect for Marathi films after its Oscar entry.
Directed by Anusha Rizvi, 'Peepli Live'(2010) was a socio-political satire.
Salim Ahamed's 'Adaminte Makan Abu'(2011) was made at a very low budget.
Will 'Barfi!' bring India its first Academy Award in the best foreign film category? Let's keep our fingers crossed.