Standing tall along with big names of Indian Cinema; the RRR team, Karan Johar, and Mani Ratnam as new members of the Academy
Our Bureau
Los Angeles, CA
Rafiq Bhatia, Composer and guitarist; Netflix executives Bela Bajaria and Girish Balakrishnan; Shivani Rawat a Producer, are the select few Indian Americans who have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. The class of 2023 has 398 artists and executives, who have earned a name for themselves by contributing to the motion pictures.
Academy’s new members this year are a diverse mix of artists; with 34% being minorities, 40% women, and 52% from outside the U.S. Among the invitees, there are 76 Oscar® nominees, including 22 winners.
This is a proud moment for Indian cinema, with many prominent names and legends of Indian movies also being invited. New membership has been extended to the team of Oscar-winning “RRR” with lead actors Ram Charan and NT Rama Rao Jr., along with cinematographer K.K. Senthil Kumar; lyricist Chandrabose; music composer M.M. Keeravaani and production designer Sabu Cyril. New members of the Academy also include acclaimed directors Mani Ratnam, Chaitanya Tamhane, and Shaunak Sen, with famous producers Karan Johar and Siddharth Roy Kapur making the list. MD, Red Sea International Film Festival Shivani Pandya Malhotra, Haresh Hingorani, and Kamil Jafar for visual effects, with writer Shola Dada making to this elite group of Academy.
Bill Kramer, Academy CEO, and Janet Yang, Academy President said they are “proud to welcome these artists and professionals into the Academy membership. They represent extraordinary global talent across cinematic disciplines and have made a vital impact on the arts and sciences of motion pictures and on movie fans worldwide.”
