The Indian film industry is filled with talents and some of the artists have always been strong contenders for winning Oscars aka the Academy awards.
Mother India, directed by Mehboob Khan was the first Indian movie to be nominated for the Oscars followed by many other movies but none of the actors or movies won any awards as of now.
But there are certain artists who worked on foreign movies and won Academy awards. The list below showcases some of the most prominent artists who have won Oscar awards in their respective fields.
List of Indian Artists Who Won The Oscar Awards
| Recipient | Category | Film | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bhanu Athaiya | Best Costume Design | Gandhi | 1982 |
| Satyajit Ray | Honorary Award | N/A | 1992 |
| A R Rahman | Best Original Score and Best Original Song | Slumdog Millionaire | 2009 |
| Gulzar | Best Original Song | Slumdog Millionaire | 2009 |
| Resul Pookutty | Best Sound Mixing | Slumdog Millionaire | 2009 |
1. Bhanu Athaiya
Born on 28 April 1929, Bhanu Athaiya was an Indian costume designer and painter. Athaiya was the only woman member of the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group, a group of modern artists, mainly based in Bombay.
Bhanu made her movie debut as a costume designer with the film C.I.D. in the year 1956 following many successful movies.
She won the Oscar award for Best Costume Design which is shared with John Mollo (Star wars costume designer) for her work in the film Gandhi released in 1982, and became the first Indian to win an Academy Award.
2. Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian film director, screenwriter, documentary maker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, and music composer. He was of many talents and considered one of the greatest artists of India.
Satyajit Ray received the honorary Academy award in honor of his exceptional skill in the field of filmmaking and for his profound humanitarian vision, both of which have had a monumental impact on filmmakers and viewers around the world.
Along with the Oscar award, he won various other prestigious awards like 36 Indian National Film Awards, a Golden Lion, a Golden Bear, and 2 Silver Bears.
3. A R Rahman
Born in 1967, AR Rahman is an Indian singer, music composer, record producer, and songwriter, famous for his works in the Indian film industry, mainly in Tamil and Hindi film industries.
Rahman is the only Indian with two Oscar awards in Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories for the movie Slumdog Millionaire.
Along with two academy awards, he won various other awards like six National Film Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, fifteen Filmfare Awards, and seventeen Filmfare Awards South.
4. Gulzar
Sampooran Singh Kalra, professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director famous for his works mainly in the Hindi film industry.
Gulzar started his film career with music director S.D. Burman as a lyricist in the year 1963 the movie Bandini. He also worked with many music directors like R. D. Burman, Salil Chowdhury, Vishal Bhardwaj, and A. R. Rahman.
Apart from lyrics Gulzar also writes poetry, dialogues, and scripts. Gulzar won Academy Award for Best Original Song for the movie Slumdog Millionaire in 2009.
He also won the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in the year 2013, the highest award in Indian cinema.
5. Resul Pookutty
Resul Pookutty is a film sound designer, sound editor, and audio mixer who prominently works in the Indian film industry.
He won the Oscar Award for Best Sound Mixing, along with Richard Pryke and Ian Tapp, for the critically acclaimed movie Slumdog Millionaire.
Pookutty has worked in Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam language film industries in addition to some British films.
