Costume Designer Bhanu Athaiya, India's First Oscar Winner, Dies At 91

Bhanu Athaiya, the woman who won India’s first Oscar, passed away in her sleep on Thursday, October 15, 2020. She was 91 and was suffering from a prolonged illness. Athaiya was a renowned costume designer and won India’s first Oscar for her work in 1983 film Gandhi. Her last rites took place at Chandanwadi crematorium in South Mumbai.

The news of her demise was disclosed by her daughter, Radhika Gupta. She told PTI that Atahiya was diagnosed with brain tumour eight years ago. “She passed away early this morning. Eight years ago, she was diagnosed with a tumour in her brain. For the last three years, she was bedridden because one side (of her body) was paralysed," she said.

Kolhapur-born Athaiya defined the aesthetics of Hindi cinema by her art of costume designing. She had an expansive career of over five decades, working in over 100 films.

Athaiya made a debut as a costume designer in Hindi cinema in Guru Dutt’s super-hit film C.I.D, released in 1956. Since then, she is known for providing Bollywood’s best and most memorable looks with a list of honours registered to her name. She designed the looks and costume of unforgettable characters like Vyjayantihmala in Aamrapaali, Waheeda Rehman in Guide and Zeenat Aman in Satyam Shivam Sundaram. She also designed costumes for renowned films like Teesri Manzil, Pyaasa, Kagaz Ke Phool, Guide, Waqt, Razia Sultan, Karz, 1942 – A Love Story and Swades among others. Starting from Guru Dutt, Athaiya worked with Bollywood’s top filmmakers like Yash Chopra, Gulzar and Ashutosh Gowariker. She also received National Awards for her work in Gulzar's Lekin and Gowariker's Lagaan.

Her prolific work marked the biggest achievement when she picked India’s first Oscar award for Best Costume Design in the 1983 film Gandhi.

Directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Ben Kingsley as Mahatma Gandhi, the film swept eight Oscar awards in total. In the acceptance speech, Athaiya said, “It’s too good to believe. Thank you Academy and thank you, Sir Richard Attenborough, for focusing world attention on India.”

However, in 2012, Athaiya returned the Oscar to Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as she was worried about its safety. In the same year, in an interview with PTI, she recounted her thought process and experience when her name was called out for the Oscar. She said, “When they called my name, I did not allow myself to get carried away. I calmly went on the stage and thanked Sir Richard and the Academy. When I went backstage, I was surprised as there were so many photographers taking pictures. But it was a great feeling. I was happy.” When her name was mentioned in the nomination list, Athaiya recounted that everyone sitting around her in the audience told that she was definitely going to be the winner. “They told me my canvas was huge so I would definitely win the award. In my mind, I had told myself that I had done my best, that I had done justice to Gandhiji’s name and the freedom movement.”

Athaiya also wrote a book on costume designing, titled “The Art Of Costume Design” published by Harper Collins. At the book launch event, Athaiya spoke about the importance of costumes and costume designers and how Hindi filmmakers continue to neglect them. She said, “Costumes have a huge role in making a film look real and believable, but Indian filmmakers have never given due importance to it and nowadays the trend is to just go shopping abroad and put things together. In my opinion that is not the correct thing to do.”