India woke up at dawn on Monday and started watching 95th Academy Awards held at Dolby Theater, Los Angeles, and cheer the two win. Tamil documentary by director Karthiki Gonsalves elephant whispering Became the first Indian production to win the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. Director SS Rajamouli’s Telugu film RRR becomes the first Indian feature production To win an Oscar when its catchy ‘Naatu Naatu’ won for Best Original Song (Composer MM Keeravani and Lyricist Chandrabose). Amidst the enthusiasm, however, director Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes lost Best Documentary Feature to director Daniel Rohr’s Navalny. RRR’s win assumes significance in the context of India’s last win at the Oscars in 2009, the British production, Slumdog Millionaire – Best Original Song and Score for music composer AR Rahman and lyricist Gulzar’s ‘Jai Ho’, and Resul for Best Sound Mixing Pookutty. While this Danny Boyle film can be described as the western world’s interpretation of the song, dance and mainstream masala of Indian cinema, RRR is an Indian mainstream production that is unapologetic about its spectacular action pieces and dance numbers . The victory of ‘Natu Natu’ can be seen as the Academy’s nod to a cinema that captured the imagination of a multicultural American society.
The awards have again brought to the fore the debate about whether the Oscars are ‘too white’, with Andrea Riseborough’s nomination in the Best Actress category for To Leslie in particular being widely criticized, like The Woman King’s to rule out potential names such as Viola Davis. Danielle Deadweiler for Till, and forced the Academy to investigate whether she had given the nod because of an aggressive campaign from her Hollywood peers. A ray of hope for inclusivity came in the form of Everything Everywhere All at Once (the story of an immigrant Chinese family), which garnered 11 nominations and won seven awards. Its top awards include Best Picture and Best Director, and Vietnamese-American Hui Quan in the Best Supporting Actor category. Its lead actress Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to be nominated and win in the Best Actress category. It is also the first Best Actress win for a non-white actress in 20 years. Cheers greeted the 60-year-old when she urged women to never tell anyone they’re past their prime. The other non-white film to make an appearance with a nomination and its win for Best Costume Design was Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In the years to come, these multicultural triumphs should pave the way for more artists to take to the global stage.