'Liar's Dice' to 'Laapataa Ladies'—India's Oscar entries in last decade
What's the story
Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies has been selected as India's entry for the 2025 Oscars by the Film Federation of India.
It features Nitanshi Goel, Sparsh Shrivastava, and Pratibha Ranta and defeated movies like Kalki 2898 AD and Animal to emerge victorious.
Over the past decade, a diverse range of Indian films across various languages and genres have been chosen for the Academy Awards.
Let's take a look.
#1, #2
2023, 2022: '2018' and 'Chhello Show'
The Malayalam blockbuster 2018: Everyone is a Hero was India's official entry in 2023.
Directed by Jude Anthany Joseph, the film starred Tovino Thomas in the lead role.
In 2022, the Gujarati film Chhello Show/Last Film Show was picked.
Directed by Pan Nalin, it explored the magic of cinema through the eyes of a nine-year-old boy named Samay, played by Bhavin Rabari.
#3, #4
2021, 2020: 'Pebbles' and 'Jallikattu'
In 2021, PS Vinothraj's Koozhangal/Pebbles was selected.
It follows the story of a father and his son, who embark on a journey back home after their wife/mother leaves them.
A year before that, Lijo Jose Pellissery's Malayalam film Jallikattu made it.
It revolved around a buffalo that escapes from a slaughterhouse and causes havoc in a remote village in Kerala.
#5, #6
2019, 2018: 'Gully Boy' and 'Village Rockstars'
In 2019, Zoya Akhtar's Gully Boy was chosen.
The film, inspired by the lives of Indian street rappers Divine and Naezy, starred Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt and was praised for its authentic depiction of Mumbai's underground rap scene.
In 2018, Rima Das's Assamese film Village Rockstars made the cut; it followed the story of a young girl named Dhunu, who dreams of owning a guitar and forming a rock band in her village.
#7, #8
2017, 2016: 'Newton' and 'Visaranai'
In 2017, Amit V Masurkar's Newton defeated other films to achieve this feat.
The film starred Rajkummar Rao in the lead role as a government clerk on election duty in a Naxal-controlled town.
Visaranai, directed by Vetrimaaran, was chosen in 2016.
IMDb describes its story as, "Four laborers are tortured by the police to confess to a theft they have not committed."
#9, #10
2015, 2014: 'Court' and 'Liar's Dice'
Chaitanya Tamhane's Court and Geetu Mohandas's Liar's Dice were selected in 2015 and 2014, respectively.
While the former is a tight-knit legal drama revolving around a protest singer, the latter is a gripping road movie about a young mother who frantically searches for her missing husband.
It stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Geetanjali Thapa.