Vidya Balan, Ekta Kapoor, and Shobha Kapoor have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The trio is among the 395 film industry personalities who’ve been invited by governing body behind the Oscars.
Actress Vidya Balan was recognised for her performances in Tumhari Sulu and Kahaani. Ekta Kapoor has been recognised for Dream Girl and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, while her mother Shobha has been recognised for Udta Punjab and The Dirty Picture.
Other actors and directors who’ve been invited to join The Academy include Robert Pattinson, Laverne Cox, Vanessa Kirby, Steven Yeun, Cathy Yan, Jonathan Glazer, and others.
According to Variety, The 2021 class is made up of 46% women, 39% underrepresented ethnic/racial communities and 53% international from 50 countries.
Eight people have been invited to join multiple branches of the Academy. These include Leslie Odom Jr, Florian Zeller, Shaka King, Alexander Nanau, Emerald Fennell, Lee Isaac Chung, Craig Brewer, and Kaouther Ben Hania.
The Academy is bringing inclusivity and diversity. The changes were introduced after harsh criticism that most of the Academy’s voting body is Caucasian, causing an internal bias in the voting process for the Oscars.
Other Indian’s who have been invited to join the Academy and vote in the Oscars in the past include Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Irrfan Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Salman Khan, Goutam Ghose and Buddhadeb Dasgupta.