India-West At The Oscars: Alexandre Singh Wins, Gandbhir Makes History, Kapoor Is Showrunner, Ramanan Performs
Photo: Alexandre Singh, Natalie Musteata and Kumail Nanjiani pose backstage during the live 98th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 15, 2026. Etienne Laurent / The Academy. ©A.M.P.A.S.
By Preeti Chandan
LOS ANGELES, CA – “Two People Exchanging Saliva,” co-directed by Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata, won the Oscar for best Live Action Short Film in a rare tie at the 98th Academy Awards in Hollywood last night.
An Oscar eluded Indian American filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir despite a double nomination for her Documentary Short “The Devil is Busy” and Documentary Feature “The Perfect Neighbor.” The winners these categories respectively were “All the Empty Rooms,” which documents the untouched bedrooms of children killed in American school shootings, and “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” about a school teacher in a poor mining town near the Ural Mountains who while recording his students, also documents the Putin administration’s moves to control public perception during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.
Gandbhir’s two nominations placed her in a relatively small group of filmmakers with this distinction. Winner of multiple Emmys and other prestigious awards, she is a highly respected documentarian with a significant body of work that deals with issues of discrimination, social justice, and identity.
“Two People Exchanging Saliva,” an exquisite black and white, 36-minute short, absurdist film tied with “Singers,” directed by Sam A. Davis, a heartwarming film based on a 19th-century Ivan Turgenev story. It follows downtrodden patrons in a dive bar who find connection through an impromptu, singing contest.
There have only been five previous ties in the Oscars history where two films received the same number of votes from the Academy members.
In the Press Interview Room backstage, Singh said the couple was happy to share the award with “Singers,” an equally beautiful and totally different film.
“We never imagined we would be here today,” he said. “We just really love the medium of cinema. As many people have said before, it’s a machine for creating empathy.”
Singh of Franco-Indian descent was born in France. He and Musteata are real-life and professional partners. Both are visual artists with full careers and a significant body of work. This film is their first joint foray into filmmaking.
“Two People Exchanging Saliva” deals with repression, longing for human connection, and the absurdity of state control over intimacy. It is a story of forbidden love set in a departmental store in a dystopian world where slaps in the face are the currency and “exchanging saliva,” a clinical description of kissing, is punishable by death. The story follows a dangerous and quiet romance between an unhappily married woman and a shop assistant.
The film is emotionally gripping and visually resplendent. Its high definition, brightly lit, angular images in black and white underscoring the relentless scrutiny faced by people whose lives are rendered colorless.
“Coming from the visual arts, we start with pencil on paper. So it made sense to us to begin in black and white,” Musteata said. “Black and white is a little bit like an X-ray. You can’t hide in black and white; color can distract. There’s a certain purity to black and white in terms of composition and form,” Singh added.
Singh and Musteata received their award from Kumail Nanjiani, a second-time presenter at the Oscars. Nanjiani, a renowned comedian, actor, and screenwriter, with a past Oscar nomination, joked that the short film category was taking twice as long because of the tie.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas joined “No Country for Old Men” star Javier Barden on stage to present the Best International Film Award to “Sentimental Value,” a Norwegian film directed by Joachim Triers. It explores the strained relationship between a filmmaker father and his two daughters as they confront unresolved family history and artistic legacy while he is preparing for a new film project.
At an Oscars where political speeches were minimal this year, Triers gently appealed for a return of common sense, decency, tolerance, and kindness in a world increasingly fraught with wars, divisive and authoritarian tendencies. In his acceptance speech, Singh said the world today is dark, absurd, ridiculous, and horrifying. “But that’s why we make films because we believe that art can change people’s souls.”
Veteran live television producer, Raj Kapoor, returned as the executive producer and showrunner for the 98th Oscars. He has worked on the Oscars telecast for several years, contributing to its production and creative direction. He received eight Emmy nominations and one win.
Rohan Ramanan, a Southern California-based tenor/countertenor who has studied Western and Hindustani voice, was a performer during host Conan O’Brien’s monologue.
This year, the front-runners were “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” who won six and five awards respectively. For a full list of winners, visit: https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2026
The 98th Academy Awards ceremony was held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles,on Sunday, March 15.
