# List of Indian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

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.
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 to the academy for a nomination for "Best Foreign Language Film" the following year. The chosen films, along with their English subtitles, are sent to the academy, where they are screened for the jury. The 1957 Hindi film Mother India was India's first submission. The film made it to the final shortlist and was nominated alongside four other films in the category. It came close to winning the Academy Award but lost to Nights of Cabiria by a single vote. 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. As of 2021, only three Indian films—Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay! (1988) and Lagaan (2001)—have been nominated for the award. 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.

## Submissions

As of 2024, India has sent a total of 57 films to the competition. 35 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 Malayalam films, three Marathi films, two of each Bengali and Gujarati films and one film of each Assamese and Telugu languages have been submitted.
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.
| Year (Ceremony) | Film title used in nomination | Original title | Language | Director(s) | Result |
| 1957 (30th) | Mother India | मदर इंडिया | Hindi | Mehboob Khan | Nominated |
| 1958 (31st) | Madhumati | मधुमती | Hindi | Bimal Roy | Not nominated |
| 1959 (32nd) | The World of Apu | অপুর সংসার | Bengali | Satyajit Ray | Not nominated |
| 1962 (35th) | Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam | साहिब बीबी और ग़ुलाम | Hindi | Abrar Alvi | Not nominated |
| 1963 (36th) | Metropolis | মহানগর | Bengali | Satyajit Ray | Not nominated |
| 1965 (38th) | The Guide | गाइड | Hindi | Vijay Anand | Not nominated |
| 1966 (39th) | Amrapali | आम्रपाली | Hindi | Lekh Tandon | Not nominated |
| 1967 (40th) | The Last Letter | आख़री ख़त | Hindi | Chetan Anand | Not nominated |
| 1968 (41st) | Elder Sister | मझली दीदी | Hindi | Hrishikesh Mukherjee | Not nominated |
| 1969 (42nd) | Deiva Magan | தெய்வ மகன் | Tamil | A. C. Tirulokchandar | Not nominated |
| 1971 (44th) | Reshma Aur Shera | रेशमा और शेरा | Hindi | Sunil Dutt | Not nominated |
| 1972 (45th) | Uphaar | उपहार | Hindi | Sudhendu Roy | Not nominated |
| 1973 (46th) | Saudagar | सौदागर | Hindi | Sudhendu Roy | Not nominated |
| 1974 (47th) | Hot Winds | گرم ہوا | Urdu | M. S. Sathyu | Not nominated |
| 1977 (50th) | Manthan | मंथन | Hindi | Shyam Benegal | Not nominated |
| 1978 (51st) | The Chess Players | शतरंज के खिलाड़ी | Hindi | Satyajit Ray | Not nominated |
| 1980 (53rd) | Payal Ki Jhankaar | पायल की झंकार | Hindi | Satyen Bose | Not nominated |
| 1984 (57th) | Saaransh | सारांश | Hindi | Mahesh Bhatt | Not nominated |
| 1985 (58th) | Saagar | सागर | Hindi | Ramesh Sippy | Not nominated |
| 1986 (59th) | Swathi Muthyam | స్వాతి ముత్యం | Telugu | K. Viswanath | Not nominated |
| 1987 (60th) | Nayakan | நாயகன் | Tamil | Mani Ratnam | Not nominated |
| 1988 (61st) | Salaam Bombay! | सलाम बॉम्बे | Hindi | Mira Nair | Nominated |
| 1989 (62nd) | Parinda | परिंदा | Hindi | Vidhu Vinod Chopra | Not nominated |
| 1990 (63rd) | Anjali | அஞ்சலி | Tamil | Mani Ratnam | Not nominated |
| 1991 (64th) | Henna | हिना | Hindi | Randhir Kapoor | Not nominated |
| 1992 (65th) | Thevar Magan | தேவர் மகன் | Tamil | Bharathan | Not nominated |
| 1993 (66th) | Rudaali | रुदाली | Hindi | Kalpana Lajmi | Not nominated |
| 1994 (67th) | Bandit Queen | बैंडिट क्वीन | Hindi | Shekhar Kapur | Not nominated |
| 1995 (68th) | Kuruthipunal | குருதிப்புனல் | Tamil | P. C. Sreeram | Not nominated |
| 1996 (69th) | Indian | இந்தியன் | Tamil | S. Shankar | Not nominated |
| 1997 (70th) | Guru | ഗുരു | Malayalam | Rajiv Anchal | Not nominated |
| 1998 (71st) | Jeans | ஜீன்ஸ் | Tamil | S. Shankar | Not nominated |
| 1999 (72nd) | Earth | 1947: अर्थ | Hindi | Deepa Mehta | Not nominated |
| 2000 (73rd) | Hey Ram | ஹே ராம் हे राम | Tamil Hindi | Kamal Haasan | Not nominated |
| 2001 (74th) | Lagaan | लगान | Hindi | Ashutosh Gowariker | Nominated |
| 2002 (75th) | Devdas | देवदास | Hindi | Sanjay Leela Bhansali | Not nominated |
| 2004 (77th) | The Breath | श्वास | Marathi | Sandeep Sawant | Not nominated |
| 2005 (78th) | Riddle | पहेली | Hindi | Amol Palekar | Not nominated |
| 2006 (79th) | Rang De Basanti | रंग दे बसंती | Hindi | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Not nominated |
| 2007 (80th) | Eklavya: The Royal Guard | एकलव्य: दी रॉयल गार्ड | Hindi | Vidhu Vinod Chopra | Not nominated |
| 2008 (81st) | Like Stars on Earth | तारे ज़मीन पर | Hindi | Aamir Khan | Not nominated |
| 2009 (82nd) | Harishchandra's Factory | हरिश्‍चंद्राची फॅक्टरी | Marathi | Paresh Mokashi | Not nominated |
| 2010 (83rd) | Peepli Live | पीपली लाइव | Hindi | Anusha Rizvi | Not nominated |
| 2011 (84th) | Abu, Son of Adam | ആദാമിന്റെ മകൻ അബു | Malayalam | Salim Ahamed | Not nominated |
| 2012 (85th) | Barfi! | बर्फी! | Hindi | Anurag Basu | Not nominated |
| 2013 (86th) | The Good Road | ધી ગુડ રોડ | Gujarati | Gyan Korrea | Not nominated |
| 2014 (87th) | Liar's Dice | लायर्स डाइस | Hindi | Geetu Mohandas | Not nominated |
| 2015 (88th) | Court | कोर्ट | Marathi | Chaitanya Tamhane | Not nominated |
| 2016 (89th) | Visaranai | விசாரணை | Tamil | Vetrimaaran | Not nominated |
| 2017 (90th) | Newton | न्यूटन | Hindi | Amit V. Masurkar | Not nominated |
| 2018 (91st) | Village Rockstars | ৱিলে'জ ৰকষ্টাৰ্চ | Assamese | Rima Das | Not nominated |
| 2019 (92nd) | Gully Boy | गली बॉय | Hindi | Zoya Akhtar | Not nominated |
| 2020 (93rd) | Jallikattu | ജല്ലിക്കട്ട് | Malayalam | Lijo Jose Pellissery | Not nominated |
| 2021 (94th) | Pebbles | கூழாங்கல் | Tamil | P. S. Vinothraj | Not nominated |
| 2022 (95th) | Last Film Show | છેલ્લો શો | Gujarati | Pan Nalin | Made shortlist |
| 2023 (96th) | 2018 | 2018 | Malayalam | Jude Anthany Joseph | Not nominated |
| 2024 (97th) | Laapataa Ladies | लापता लेडीज़ | Hindi | Kiran Rao | Not nominated |