The 98th Academy Awards happened at 4:30 AM IST on a Monday. India’s biggest Oscar moment was a woman cutting fabric off her own dress.
That’s the thing about the Oscars and India — we show up, we look stunning, we trend on Twitter for six hours, and then we go back to arguing about IPL retentions. But this year actually had more going on than the usual “Priyanka wore something gorgeous” discourse. Some of it was exciting. Some of it stung.
Here’s what actually happened — for those of you who didn’t set a 4 AM alarm on a work night.
Priyanka’s Dior Moment Was Better Than Most of the Ceremony
Priyanka Chopra Jonas walked the red carpet in a custom white strapless Dior gown — sweetheart neckline, ruched waist, a thigh-high slit lined with black-and-white feathered ruffles. Nick Jonas matched in a velvet black tuxedo and bowtie. The two of them looked like they were starring in their own movie and everyone else was background cast.
The behind-the-scenes bit was even better. Hours before the carpet, Priyanka posted an Instagram Story of her stylist literally cutting fabric from the dress. Caption: “last minute.com.” The woman was getting a custom Dior altered with scissors like it was a Sarojini Nagar find that needed emergency tailoring. Relatable queen behaviour.
This was her third time presenting at the Oscars — after 2016 and 2021 — and she showed up dripping in a Bvlgari diamond-and-sapphire necklace that probably cost more than most Bollywood film budgets. Nobody was surprised. Everyone was still staring.
But the red carpet was the highlight reel. The actual ceremony? That’s where India’s night got complicated.
Homebound Got Shortlisted. Then Got Ghosted.
India’s official entry — Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound, starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor — made the Best International Feature Film shortlist. Top 15 out of the entire world. Only the fifth Indian film in 98 years to get that far.
It didn’t get nominated.
The film had festival cred — a nine-minute standing ovation at Cannes, runner-up at Toronto. Critics called it India’s strongest Oscar contender since Lagaan. But Brazil’s The Secret Agent and Jafar Panahi’s French entry dominated the category, and Homebound was left on the outside looking at a door that almost opened.
Almost is the worst word in awards season. And India’s had too many almosts.
But here’s the twist nobody in India was talking about — an Indian-origin filmmaker actually did make history at the same ceremony.
Geeta Gandbhir Made History While Nobody Was Watching
Geeta Gandbhir, an Indian-American documentary filmmaker born in Boston to Indian immigrant parents, became the first woman to receive Oscar nominations for both Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Short in the same year.
Two films. Two nominations. One ceremony.
Her feature, The Perfect Neighbor, explores the 2023 fatal shooting of Ajike Owens in Florida. Her short, The Devil Is Busy, follows a single day inside an abortion clinic in Atlanta. Heavy subjects, both of them — and the kind of filmmaking that changes how people think, not just what they watch.
When asked about the nominations, Gandbhir said she literally slept through the announcement. Two historic Oscar nods, and she found out after waking up.
Meanwhile, the rest of India was busy screenshot-sharing Priyanka’s outfit. The algorithm decides who trends. History just quietly happens.
The Ceremony India Slept Through
The big wins went to Ryan Coogler’s Sinners — 16 nominations, most in Oscar history — with Michael B. Jordan winning Best Actor. One Battle After Another took Best Picture and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson. Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to win Best Cinematography. Conan O’Brien hosted for the second year running.
Good ceremony. Historic in several categories. And India processed all of it through Instagram carousel posts at 9 AM while waiting for chai.
That’s the real Oscars experience for India — not the ceremony itself, but the morning-after scroll. Priyanka’s dress gets more engagement than Best Picture. Homebound’s snub gets a sad emoji and a “next time.” Geeta Gandbhir’s double nomination gets buried under Bollywood box office numbers.
The Oscars didn’t ignore India this year. We just weren’t awake to notice when it didn’t.