Hindi film actor Vidya Balan and soap queen Ekta Kapoor are among the Indians invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, various American trade publications reported on Friday. Also invited: Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor’s mother, who is listed as a producer on the family’s projects, and 1000 Rupee Note director Shrihari Sathe.
The Indians are among 395 invitees, Variety reported. “The 2021 class is comprised of 46% women, 39% underrepresented ethnic/racial communities and 53% international from 49 countries outside the United States,” the publication noted. “Of the 395 invitees, 89 are former Oscar nominees, including 25 winners.”
Balan, the Kapoors and Sathe, should they accept the invitation, will be in the company of Jonathan Glazer, Florian Zeller, Robert Pattinson, Emerald Fennell, Cathy Yan, Hugh Bonneville, Vanessa Kirby, Nathan Lane and Wagner Moura, among others.
“The new additions will bring the number of eligible Oscar voters up to somewhere in the neighborhood of 9,750, although that is not an exact number as all 395 must now accept the invites…” Deadline noted.
The Indian actors and filmmakers invited to join the Academy in recent years include Sharmila Tagore, Anand Patwardhan, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, Sooni Taraporevala, Madhabi Mukherjee, Naseeruddin Shah, Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Anil Kapoor, Tabu, Aditya Chopra and Guneet Monga.
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