India’s mythological animated film Mahavatar Narsimha, directed by Ashwin Kumar, reached a major milestone by securing a place among the 35 eligible titles in the Animated Feature Film category for the 98th Academy Awards, scheduled for March 16, 2026.

Mahavatar Narsimha brings Indian mythology to the Oscars stage as it joins 35 films competing for best animated feature

The film’s entry positioned India as a strong contender for what could become its first-ever nomination in the Best Animated Feature category. The Academy will announce the final list of nominees on December 16.

The Academy confirmed the lineup in an official statement: “Thirty-five features are eligible for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 98th Academy Awards. Some of the films have not yet had their required qualifying release and must fulfil that requirement and comply with all the category’s other qualifying rules to advance in the voting process.”

A competitive global lineup

Mahavatar Narsimha appeared alongside several high-profile international projects, including Netflix’s Kpop Demon Hunters, DreamWorks’ The Bad Guys 2, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Zootopia 2, Chainsaw Man, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, and Disney-Pixar’s Elio. Notably, China’s widely anticipated Ne Zha 2 did not feature on this year’s eligibility list, adding an element of unpredictability to the race.

The film earned its place by fulfilling the Academy’s qualification requirements, which included a commercial run of at least seven days in the United States with three screenings per day, including one between 6 pm and 10 pm. Eligible animated features must also run for more than 40 minutes and ensure that at least 75 percent of the film is animated.

A mythological success story

Directed by Ashwin Kumar, Mahavatar Narsimha presented the story of Vishnu’s incarnations Varaha and Narasimha. The film released in July in both 2D and 3D formats and became one of the year’s notable box-office successes before arriving on Netflix.

The film also served as the first installment in a planned seven-part cinematic universe exploring Vishnu’s avatars. The next chapter, Mahavatar Parshuram, focused on Vishnu’s sixth incarnation, is expected to release in 2027.

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