Oscars 2023 saw two historic wins for India –
SS Rajamouli’s RRR won an Oscar for Best Original Song with Naatu Naatu and The Elephant Whisperers won in the Best Documentary Short category.
From costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, AR Rahman to the honorary Lifetime Achievement award received by legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray, check out the Indians who won an Oscar before RRR.
1) Bhanu Athaiya
Bhanu was actually the FIRST INDIAN to ever win an Oscar. She bagged the Best Costume Design award in 1983 for her meticulous work in the 1982 film Gandhi.
2) Satyajit Ray
Visionary filmmaker Satyajit Ray brought Indian cinema into world recognition. He was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1992 for Lifetime Achievement. However, since he was hospitalized at the time, he gave his speech from the bed, while holding the golden trophy.
3) AR Rahman
In 2009, Music maestro AR Rahman won 2 Oscars for his work on Slumdog Millionaire – Best Original Score and Best Original Song (Jai Ho).
4) Gulzar
In 2009, celebrated lyricist Gulzar shared the Oscar for Best Original Song with AR Rahman. He had penned the lyrics for the winning song – Jai Ho.
5) Resul Pookutty
Along with Gulzar and AR Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire also saw another win in 2009. Resul Pookutty won the Oscar for Best Sound Mixing.
6) Guneet Monga
Producer Guneet Monga and Kartiki Gonsalves’ The Elephant Whisperers won the Best Documentary Short in 2023. She had won an Oscar for the same category back in 2019 as well – for Period. End of Sentence, which was a film on menstruation, set in rural India.