Golden Globes Losses Pile Up For India, Payal Kapadia Joins Satyajit Ray, Mira Nair, SS Rajamouli In List

Golden Globes 2025: India’s race to bag the Golden Globes award still continues as Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light lost in the Best Motion Picture Non-English Language category to France's Emilia Perez. The joint Indo-French production film was nominated in the category along with I'm Still Here (Brazil), The Girl with the Needle (Denmark), The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany) and Vermiglio (Italy) to clinch the prestigious Golden Globe. However, it could not win. This was the seventh time India got close to winning in this category but failed to achieve victory.

Payal Kapadia joins Mira Nair, and SS Rajamouli in the race as All We Imagine As Light lost in 82nd Golden Globes

Over the years, several iconic films have tried to win the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture in Non-English Language but have fallen short. The 1957 film Do Ankhen Barah Haath, directed by the prestigious V. Shantaram, was the first Indian film to receive a Golden Globe nomination. It competed in the Samuel Goldwyn International Film Award category, now known as Best Foreign Film, and won the award. However, since then, no Indian film has secured a Golden Globe in this category.

In 1961, Satyajit Ray's Apur Sansar (The World of Apu, 1959) was restored by the HFPA and received a nomination in the Samuel Goldwyn International Film Award category but did not win. Similarly, Salaam Bombay! (1988), directed by Mira Nair and Michael Nozik, was nominated for Best Foreign Film in 1989 but also missed out on the award. Later, Monsoon Wedding (2001) and S.S. Rajamouli's RRR (2022) received nominations in the same category but were unable to secure the trophy.

This year as well, India’s hopes were dashed as it ended its Golden Globes run with no wins.

Indian-foreign joint venture films based on Indian stories that won the Golden Globes

Out of the seven films, two were produced through joint ventures and went on to win awards. At the 40th Golden Globe Awards in 1982, the English-language biographical film Gandhi, a co-production between NFDC India and the United Kingdom, became the first joint venture film to win the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film. 

In 1984, Passage to India, directed by David Lean, received nominations in multiple categories, including Best Foreign Film, and won the award.