Vidya Balan and Ekta Kapoor are among the 395 new invitees to join The Academy

Actress Vidya Balan, Ekta Kapoor, and Shobha Kapoor are among the 395 film industry personalities who have been invited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to join them. The Academy is the main governing body of one of the most prestigious awards- The Oscars. Vidya has been recognised for her excellent performances in the movies Tumhari Sulu and Kahaani. Vidya is also the only actor to be invited by the Academy this year. Ekta on the other hand has been recognised for Dream Girl and Once Upon a Time in Mumbai. Ekta’s mother Shobha was recognised for the Shahid Kapoor starrer Udta Punjab and the Vidya Balan starrer The Dirty Picture.

Apart from Vidya, Ekta and Shobha; others who have been invited to join The Academy are Robert Pattinson, Laverne Cox, Vanessa Kirby, Steven Yeun, and others. The panel of directors include Cathy Yan, Jonathan Glazer, and more. According to a report by Variety, the class of 2021 is comprised of 46% women, 39% underrepresented ethnic/racial communities and 53% international from 49 countries outside the United States.

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Apart from that the report also said that out of the 395 invitees, 89 are former Oscar nominees, including 25 winners. Eight individuals have been invited to join multiple branches out of which one is to be chosen upon acceptance, These include Leslie Odom Jr, Florian Zeller, Shaka King, Alexander Nanau, Emerald Fennell, Lee Isaac Chung, Craig Brewer, and Kaouther Ben Hania.

Meanwhile, talking about Vidya Balan, she was last seen in Amit Masurkar’s Sherni which is streaming on Amazon Prime. Apart from Vidya, other Indian celebrities who have been invited by the Academy are Irrfan Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Salman Khan, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra as well.

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Vidya Balan on battling lows: I felt like giving up many times but the universe didn’t let me to