Zoya Akhtar Invited To Be Member of Oscar Academy In Special Honour

Gullyboy filmmaker Zoya Akhtar has added another feather to her cap as Oscars Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited her to become a member. Zoya Akhtar is known for her character-driven films. They have not only done well at the box office but also garnered critical acclaim over the years. All that and her vigour for filmmaking today has her standing on the same level as a few other filmmakers and actors who have also been invited by the Acamedy as members including Anurag Kashyap, Lunchbox writer-director Ritesh Batra and Anupam Kher.

She has been invited to the director’s category while Kashyap will be a member of the Short Films and Feature Animation category.

Zoya’s father and lyricist, Javed Akhtar tweeted acknowledging her accomplishment and wrote, “I am sure that fellow Indians will be happy and proud to know that my daughter Zoya Akhtar who is a well-known writer-director has been offered the membership of Oscar Academy which is rare honour.”

ALSO READ: How Zoya Akhtar’s Filmography Has Come Full Circle With ‘Gully Boy’

Her brother and fellow filmmaker Farhan Akhtar also congratulated her by tweeting, “Congratulations Zoya Akhtar .. well deserved .. happy for you and proud of you.”

Zoya Akhtar has a diploma in filmmaking from NYU after she assisted stalwart filmmakers like Mira Nair and Dev Benegal. She has made Luck By Chance, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Sheila Ki Jawaani (A segment in Bombay Talkies). She co-wrote Dil Dhadakne Do and directed her latest Gully Boy.

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The Oscar Academy this year has 842 new members in an initiative to increase the inclusivity of members from around the world and from diverse film industries. While the academy has invited members from 59 countries, half of them are women. This has raised the percentage of women in the academy from 25 per cent in 2015 to 32 per cent this year. Notably, the members of colour have doubled in the academy from 2015 and currently stand at 16 per cent. In the current batch, they constitute 29 per cent of the total invitees.

Actor Archie Punjabi and Late Night director Nisha Ganatra have also made their way into the invitee list. Sherry Bharda of Hichki fame and Srinivas Mohan, best known for his work on 2.0 and Baahubali: The Beginning, are going to be joining in the visual effects department in the Oscars Academy.

In 2018, Oscars had invited 928 new members including Indian names like Shah Rukh Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Tabu and Madhuri Dixit.

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