Indian cinema eyes Oscars as two films make Best Picture eligibility list

Indian cinema has taken another step towards the Oscars, with two homegrown films making it to the eligibility list for the 98th Academy Awards. Rishab Shetty’s Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 and Anupam Kher’s Tanvi The Great are among 201 feature films eligible for consideration in the Best Picture category.

The list was released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and reported by Variety. These films have met all additional criteria required beyond general entry, placing them in the initial Best Picture race.

Strict eligibility rules met

According to the Academy, films on the list completed mandatory theatrical runs and submitted a confidential Academy Representation and Inclusion Standards Entry (RAISE) form. They also fulfilled at least two of the four inclusion standards set by AMPAS.

In addition, eligible films were required to complete a qualifying theatrical run in at least 10 of the top 50 US markets within 45 days of their initial release in 2025. Both Indian titles successfully cleared these benchmarks, positioning themselves on the global awards stage.

Earlier in November 2025, the Academy had announced eligibility lists for Best Documentary, Animated Feature and International Feature Film categories. Across all sections, 317 films were declared eligible.

Oscar nominations will be announced on January 22. And the 98th Academy Awards will take place on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre and will be televised live on ABC in more than 200 territories worldwide.

About ‘Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1’

Produced by Hombale Films, Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 serves as a prequel to the 2022 hit. The film explores the origins of Daiva worship in Tulunadu, tracing its roots to the fourth-century Kadamba dynasty. Rishab Shetty plays Berme, a guardian of the Kantara forest and its tribal communities.

About ‘Tanvi The Great’

Directed by Anupam Kher, Tanvi The Great stars Shubhangi as Tanvi Raina, a young girl on the autism spectrum who dreams of joining the Indian Army. Inspired by her late father’s service, her journey forms the emotional core of the film.

The cast includes Anupam Kher, Jackie Shroff, Boman Irani and Karan Tacker in pivotal roles.

With both films meeting Oscar standards, hopes are rising for Indian cinema’s presence at the world’s biggest film awards.

The full list of eligible best picture contenders is below:

• “The Accountant 2”

• “The Actor”

• “After the Hunt”

• “All of You”

• “All That’s Left of You”

• “The Alto Knights”

• “The Amateur”

• “Americana”

• “Anaconda”

• “Anemone”

• “Anniversary”

• “The Assessment”

• “Audrey’s Children”

• “Avatar: Fire and Ash”

• “The Bad Guys 2”

• “Ballad of a Small Player”

• “The Ballad of Wallis Island”

• “Ballerina”

• “The Baltimorons”

• “Bau, Artist at War”

• “Becoming Led Zeppelin”

• “Belén”

• “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey”

• “Black Bag”

• “Black Phone 2”

• “Blue Moon”

• “Bob Trevino Likes It”

• “Bone Lake”

• “Bring Her Back”

• “Brownsville Bred”

• “Bugonia”

• “The Carpenter’s Son”

• “Caught Stealing”

• “The Choral”

• “Christy”

• “The Chronology of Water”

• “Companion”

• “The Conjuring: Last Rites”

• “Dead Man’s Wire”

• “Death of a Unicorn”

• “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle”

• “Die My Love”

• “Dog Man”

• “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight”

• “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale”

• “Dust Bunny”

• “East of Wall”

• “Echo Valley”

• “Eddington”

• “Eden”

• “Eephus”

• “Eleanor the Great”

• “Elio”

• “Ella McCay”

• “Eternity”

• “Everything’s Going to Be Great”

• “F1”

• “Fackham Hall”

• “Fairyland”

• “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”

• “Father Mother Sister Brother”

• “Final Destination: Bloodlines”

• “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2”

• “Folktales”

• “40 Acres”

• “Frankenstein”

• “Freakier Friday”

• “Freaky Tales”

• “The Friend”

• “Friendship”

• “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie”

• “Good Boy”

• “Good Fortune”

• “Goodbye June”

• “Guns & Moses”

• “Hamnet”

• “Hedda”

• “Hell of a Summer”

• “Highest 2 Lowest”

• “Him”

• “The History of Sound”

• “A House of Dynamite”

• “The Housemaid”

• “How to Train Your Dragon”

• “I Wish You All the Best”

• “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”

• “Is This Thing On?”

• “It Was Just an Accident”

• “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley”

• “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life”

• “Jay Kelly”

• “Jurassic World Rebirth”

• “Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1”

• “Karate Kid: Legends”

• “Keeper”

• “Kiss of the Spider Woman”

• “The Knife”

• “La Grazia”

• “Last Breath”

• “Left-Handed Girl”

• “The Legend of Ochi”

• “The Life of Chuck”

• “Lilly”

• “Lilo & Stitch”

• “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”

• “The Long Walk”

• “The Lost Bus”

• “Love Hurts”

• “Love Me”

• “The Luckiest Man in America”

• “Magazine Dreams”

• “Mahavatar Narsimha”

• “The Man in My Basement”

• “Marty Supreme”

• “Materialists”

• “M3GAN 2.0”

• “Mickey 17”

• “A Minecraft Movie”

• “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning”

• “The Monkey”

• “My Dead Friend Zoe”

• “The Naked Gun”

• “No Other Choice”

• “Nobody 2”

• “Nouvelle Vague”

• “Novocaine”

• “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t”

• “Nuremberg”

• “Oh, Hi!”

• “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl”

• “On Swift Horses”

• “One Battle After Another”

• “100 Nights of Hero”

• “One of Them Days”

• “One to One: John and Yoko”

• “Opus”

• “Orwell 2+2=5”

• “Paddington in Peru”

• “Peter Hujar’s Day”

• “The Phoenician Scheme”

• “The Plague”

• “Plainclothes”

• “Preparation for the Next Life”

• “Presence”

• “Prime Minister”

• “Rebuilding”

• “Regretting You”

• “Relay”

• “Rental Family”

• “Resurrection”

• “Roofman”

• “Rosemead”

• “The Roses”

• “Rule Breakers”

• “The Running Man”

• “The Ruse”

• “Scarlet”

• “The Secret Agent”

• “Sentimental Value”

• “She Rides Shotgun”

• “Sheepdog”

• “Shelby Oaks”

• “The Shrouds”

• “Sinners”

• “Sirāt”

• “Sister Midnight”

• “Sisu: Road to Revenge”

• “Sketch”

• “The Smashing Machine”

• “Song Sung Blue”

• “Sorry, Baby”

• “Soul on Fire”

• “Sovereign”

• “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues”

• “Splitsville”

• “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere”

• “Steve”

• “The Summer Book”

• “Superman”

• “Tanvi the Great”

• “Tetami”

• “The Testament of Ann Lee”

• “Thunderbolts*”

• “Together”

• “Tourist Family”

• “Train Dreams”

• “Trifole”

• “Truth & Treason”

• “28 Years Later”

• “Twinless”

• “The Ugly Stepsister”

• “Urchin”

• “The Voice of Hind Rajab”

• “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery”

• “Warfare”

• “Weapons”

• “The Wedding Banquet”

• “Wicked: For Good”

• “Wolf Man”

• “The Woman in the Yard”

• “Zootopia 2”