It came close to winning the Academy Award but lost to Nights of Cabiria by a single vote. The film made it to the final shortlist and was nominated alongside four other films in the category. The 1957 Hindi film Mother India was India's first submission. The chosen films, along with their English subtitles, are sent to the academy, where they are screened for the jury. 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 'Best Foreign Language Film' category was not created until 1956 however, between 19, the academy presented a non-competitive Honorary Award for the best foreign language films released in the United States. 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.

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. Three films of Satyajit Ray were submitted.

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