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Aamir, Priyanka, Deepika and more invited to join Oscar academy

Aamir, Priyanka, Deepika and more invited to join Oscar academy

The Academy's list of 744 new members is heavy on Bollywood this year!
29 Jun, 2017

Expect a lot more Indian faces at the Oscars in 2018.

Indian cinema’s top-drawer actors, directors and writers are among the global celebrities who have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organises the annual Oscar awards.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Indians on the list of 744 new members is heavy on Bollywood, with Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Irrfan Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Aishwarya Rai making the list of actors. Mrinal Sen and Goutam Ghose have been invited among the directors, while Sooni Taraporevala and Buddhadeb Dasgupta have been added to the list of writers.

Costume designer Arjun Bhasin has made the cut too. Among documentary filmmakers, Anand Patwardhan has been invited to be a member. Amrit Pritam Dutta, the sound designer of PK and Kaabil, has also been invited.

“That number is more than the record 683 invitations that were issued in 2016 and well above the 322 invites that went out in 2015 as the Academy has made a concerted effort to diversify its membership ranks by bringing in more women, people of color and filmmakers from around the world,” the report said.

Membership to the academy, which hands out the Oscars every year, is by invitation only. Oscar nominees are eligible, as are candidates proposed by two current Academy members from the same field as the candidate.

The Academy has been addressing allegations of a lack of diversity in race and gender in its membership over the past few years. The latest decision also reflects the recognition that talent from all over the world contributes to Hollywood and the Oscars every year. With the new membership list, television audiences around the world have greater reason to tune into the Oscars, even as viewership slides back home.

“Seven of the Academy branches — actors, casting directors, costume designers, documentary, executives and film editors — invited more women than men,” the report said. The criterion is that the candidates must have “demonstrated exceptional achievement in the field of theatrical motion pictures”.

Indians who have been invited to be members in the past include AR Rahman, Sharmila Tagore, Resul Pookutty and Freida Pinto.

The latest list includes several established and new Hollywood stars, including Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Adam Driver, Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson. The oldest invitee is 95-year-old Betty White, while the youngest is 19-year-old Elle Fanning, the report added.


This article was originally published on *Scroll.in and has been reproduced with permission.*

Comments

henrysmith0 Jun 29, 2017 05:02pm
Thanks for this nice article, i got lots of useful information from this blog post. Keep it up District News
Recommend
Albela Jun 29, 2017 05:32pm
Not a single Pakistan actor,I would recommend Shaan to the Oscars.
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SUDHAKAR, USA Jun 29, 2017 07:46pm
Thank you for this nice article. I too got loads of useful information. Thank you.
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Ashwin Jun 29, 2017 09:32pm
@ALBELA I would recommend Sir Shoaib Mansoor.
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ajay Jun 29, 2017 09:43pm
Indians are the best in all fields.
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Cosmo Jun 29, 2017 10:40pm
@Albela Nope, it is hard enough to watch him overacting in his movies.
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Zala Jun 29, 2017 10:57pm
Shahrukh khan is not invited nor Akshay Kumar? I wonder what is the criteria for selection.
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ali Jun 30, 2017 12:41am
@Albela hilarious, is he capable enough????????????
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Khwarizmi Jun 30, 2017 01:03am
Bollywood is know as a second class (B-class) film industry in Europe and America. I stoped following Bollywood ages ago.
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AK Jun 30, 2017 01:10am
Bollywood is rocking!!. Great. It deserves recognition for creativity, commitment and hardworking.
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Anusri Tripathi Jun 30, 2017 10:50am
@Albela Nothing changes with such recommendation dear.
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Kumar, India Jun 30, 2017 10:51am
I would recommend Jemima Khan to the Oscars panel.
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rahimulla Jun 30, 2017 10:53am
None from the Indian Media took notice of such invitations, that shows how much they care about Hollywood. Actors get paid much much more in Bollywood than in Hollywood...! Bollywood movies are screened across the 7 continents including Africa and South America.
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sANA Jun 30, 2017 02:54pm
@Albela "Not a single Pakistani" you are right but Oscars look for quality
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sANA Jun 30, 2017 02:55pm
Proud of Indian film industry note the number of Muslims who top our film industry constant complaints of "suffering minority" are just not true
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sANA Jun 30, 2017 02:55pm
proud of you India known the world over
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sANA Jun 30, 2017 02:55pm
@Kumar, India why" what has Jemima done? plus how is she Indian ?
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shubs Jun 30, 2017 09:03pm
@Khwarizmi "I stoped following Bollywood ages ago." Yet here you are, searching out articles on Bollywood and commenting on them. Your massive intellect is on display on article after article. Use a mirror sometimes.
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Ajaya k Dutt Jul 02, 2017 07:05pm
@Khwarizmi - Your opinion, it seems, does not matter.
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