Gully Boy selected as India’s official entry to Oscars 2020

Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt starrer Gully Boy has been announced India’s official entry to the Oscars. The movie is a musical drama that revolves around a young man from Mumbai who uses rap music to break free from his situations. It earned around 134 crore rupees in February alone. It was directed by Zoya Akhtar.

About Oscar

The Academy award was first held in 1929. Each year an Oscar statuette made of gold – plated bronze is awarded to the winners. However, today it is being made of nickel silver, plated in very little copper mixed in 24 – carat gold.

The name ‘Oscar’ was coined by the director of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Margaret Herrick. The statue is 34.3 cm tall and weighs 3.856 kg. The model for the statue was a Mexican actor. It was sculpted by Cedric Gibbons.

India and Oscar

India has been submitting films to the award under the foreign film category since 1957. The movie Mother India was the first submission in 1957. India received its first Oscar in 1982. Bhanu Athaiya won the award for the best costume designer. So far only 5 Indians have won the award. They are as follows

• Bhanu Athaiya – Best Costume Design – Movie: Gandhi, 1982
• Satyajit Ray – Honorary award in 1992
• Gulzar – Best song – Movie: Slumdog Millionaire, 2008
• A R Rahman – Best score – Movie: Slumdog Millionaire, 2008
• Resul Pookutty – Best sound mixing – Movie: Slumdog Millionaire, 2008

Ownership of the statuettes

The winners or their heirs can sell the statuettes only to the academy for 1 USD. An agreement is signed between the winner and the academy every year to maintain the trend.

Month: Current Affairs - September, 2019