Vidya Balan, Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor Invited To Join The Academy's Class Of 2021

Vidya Balan invited to join The Academy: Vidya Balan, Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor are among the 395 film industry personalities who have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the governing body behind the Oscars. Balan, who has been acknowledged for her performances in films like Tumhari Sulu and Kahaani, will join the new class of artistes and executives for this year.

The list acknowledged Kapoor for Dream Girl and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, while her mother Shobha Kapoor has been recognised for Udta Punjab and The Dirty Picture, which also stars Vidya Balan in the lead role.

The 2021 class, according to Variety, comprises of 46 percent women, 39 percent underrepresented ethnic/racial communities and 53 percent international participants from 49 countries outside the United States in the midst of a momentum change around inclusivity and diversity. Of the 395 invitees, 89 are former Oscar nominees, including 25 winners. Other actors who have been invited to join The Academy include Robert Pattinson, Laverne Cox, Vanessa Kirby, Steven Yeun, and directors including Cathy Yan, Jonathan Glazer, and more.

Balan, a National Award-winning actor was recently seen in director Amit Masurkar's Sherni, which released on OTT. In the film, which opened to largely positive reviews, Balan plays the role of a forest officer, Vidya Vincent, who leads a team of trackers and locals intending to rehabilitate an unsettled tigress, while battling sexism both in the professional and personal space. Read more on the film Sherni here.

In a career spanning over two decades, Balan has mostly chosen to play characters with depth and agnecy. She always chooses to do films that are based on stories of women from different walks of life. She is the recipient of several awards, including the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2014.

Other Indian stars 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 and filmmakers Goutam Ghose and Buddhadeb Dasgupta.