Oscars Nominated Bollywood Films

1957 was the year when this special category of Best Foreign Film was added. That year, India's entry Mother India was one of the handful nominees. Mother India is a Mehboob Khan directorial which starred the evergreens of Bollywood, like Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar. The film is about a single mother named Radha, played by Nargis. It showcases her struggles and hardships when raising her sons in poverty, setting an example of an ideal Indian woman.  The second nomination of a Bollywood film came in the year 1988 for Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay. The flick follows day-to-day life of children living in the streets and slums of Mumbai. This critically acclaimed movie managed to receive many accolades nationally and internationally at distinguished ceremonies like the National Film Awards, National Board of Review, Cannes Film Festival, and Montreal Film Festival. The New York Times event went to the extent of naming it one of "The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made". The last and most recently nominated Bollywood flick was the Aamir Khan starrer and Ashutosh Gowariker directorial Lagaan. The film is set in the Victorian times and follows a barren village in their opposition of the high taxes imposed by their rulers. Lagaan not only garnished national acclaim and commercial success, it was also recognized at the international level as well. In 2010, the movie was ranked 55 in "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" by Empire magazine and later in 2011, it gained a place in the "The All-Time 25 Best Sports Movies".