Not content with creating box office records, the Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi epic mythological film Ramayana: Part 1 is now eyeing glory at the world’s biggest awards for cinema, the Academy Awards.
The film’s makers have submitted it for consideration at the 99th Academy Awards, Indian news website NDTV reported citing people privy to the development.
This comes even as India has already submitted the Marathi film Gondhal its official entry in the International Feature Film category.
The official entry doesn’t mean other films from the same country can compete at the Oscars, provided they satisfy the Academy’s eligibility criteria.
For independent feature films, they include completing a theatrical run of at least seven consecutive days in a qualifying US metropolitan area, with the prescribed daily screenings. The areas comprise Los Angeles County, New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta.
The filmmaker can then submit a general entry form for the Oscars online, along with the required credentials and film credits.
Ramayana: Part 1 was directed by Nitesh Tiwari, who co-wrote the screenplay with Shridhar Raghavan. Produced by Namit Malhotra and Yash, it is the first of a two-part film, based on the Indian epic Ramayana, written by Valmiki.
It roped in the Academy Award-winning composers Hans Zimmer and AR Rahman. The film features an ensemble cast that also includes Yash, Ravi Dubey, Arun Govil, Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet Singh, Vivek Oberoi, Kunal Kapoor, and Lara Dutta.
In an interview to CNN, Malhotra said the film deserved the resources that were thrown at it. “It should be mounted with the resources and the stars and the director and music like any big Hollywood tentpole,” he told the publication. “Because until we do that, we will always be the have-nots. We will always feel like we tried and we didn’t get there.”
Indian Oscar winners in the past
Many Indian filmmakers and technicians have won Oscars in the past. They include:
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In 1983, Bhanu Athaiya bagged Best Costume Design for the film Gandhi. She was also the first Indian to bag the coveted honour for cinema.
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Filmmaker Satyajit Ray received an honorary award for his lifetime contribution to cinema in 1992.
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The year 2009 marked a watershed, with Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire winning multiple awards. Composer AR Rahman won two awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song (Jai Ho), as did its lyricist, the poet Gulzar. Resul Pookutty won the Best Sound Mixing for the film, an honour that he shared with two other technicians.
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14 years later, composer MM Keeravani and lyricist Chandrabose won Best Original Song for Naatu Naatu from the film RRR.
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The same year, Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga won the Best Documentary Short Film award for The Elephant Whisperers.
Ramayana: Part 1 chronicles the early life and trials of Prince Rama, the heir apparent to the kingdom of Ayodhya (in present north India). It released in theatres worldwide on November 5, 2026, and has made gross collections of Rs 8.23 billion until November 10, according to data from the box office tracker Sacnilk.
In doing so, it also became the second Hindi film after Dhurandhar to collect Rs 1 billion in a day at the Indian box office. It was also the fastest Indian film to triple that figure, according to NDTV, and clocked the maximum number of single-day tickets sold on the Indian ticketing platform BookMyShow.
Source: Khaleej Times
