The 19-minute-long fictional film in Hindi, was the only India connection at this year's Oscars, as opposed to last year when the Mumbai based potboiler 'Slumdog Millionaire' bagged eight golden trophies.
'The New Tenants', a 21 minutes long Danish live action short film directed by Joachim Back, beat off competition from the other entries, 'The Door', 'Instead of Abracadabra' and 'Miracle Fish'.
The award was presented by actresses Carey Mulligan and Zoe Saldana.
Helvey who shot the film on a shoe string budget with an Indian cast and producers, had earlier said that the goal of the film was to "create awareness" about the persisting problem of modern slavery.