From Mani Ratnam, Karan Johar to Ram Charan, Jr. NTR: Oscars invite THESE Indians as new members

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited 398 artists and executives, including Austin Butler, Ke Huy Quan, Keke Palmer, NT Rama Rao Jr., and Taylor Swift. If all of this year's invitees accept membership, the Academy will have 10,817 members, with 9,375 eligible to vote for the 96th Oscars on March 10, 2024.

The 2023 class is 40% female. 34% are underrepresented ethnic or racial groups, and 52% are from 51 countries and territories outside the US.

The invitees include previous Oscar nominees Austin Butler (Elvis), Paul Mescal (Aftersun), Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once), and Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin). The list also contains 95th ceremony winners Ke Huy Quan (supporting actor for Everything Everywhere All at Once), cinematographer James Friend (All Quiet on the Western Front), and composer and lyricist M.M. Keeravani and Chandrabose (Naatu Naatu from RRR). The film's production designer, Sabu Cyril, cinematographer, K.K. Senthil Kumar, and RRR stars Ram Charan and N. T. Rama Rao Jr. have also been invited.

Other Indians include Mani Ratnam, Shaunak Sen, Chaitanya Tamhane, Karan Johar, and Siddharth Roy Kapur, who are invited to become members of the AMPAS.

Even "Swifties" were upset that Taylor was double-snubbed at last year's nominations—for original song (Carolina) and live-action short (All Too Well: The Short Film)—but they can rest assured as she continues her global tour and prepares her feature directorial debut.

Global artists, artisans, and talents like actors Zar Amir-Ebrahimi (Holy Spider), Raúl Castillo (The Inspection), and Rosa Salazar (Alita: Battle Angel), director Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick), screenwriters Kazuo Ishiguro (Living) and Charlotte Wells (Aftersun), and marketing and awards public relations notables like Netflix's Kelly Dalton and Sony Pictures' Antonio Gimenez-Palazon, as well as studio executives, are also invited.

"The Academy is proud to welcome these artists and professionals into our membership," stated CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang. "They represent extraordinary global talent across cinematic disciplines and have made a vital impact on the arts and sciences of motion pictures and movie fans worldwide."

This invitee class also had more women than men as casting directors, costume designers, makeup artists and hairstylists, and marketing and public relations professionals. Most actors and directors were from underrepresented ethnic and racial groups.

Eight filmmakers—Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Colm Bairéad (The Quiet Girl), Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front), Antonio Campos (The Devil All the Time), Lukas Dhont (Close), Ana Katz (The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet), and Santiago Mitre (Argentina, 1985)—have been invited to multiple branches but can only join one.

In 2022, the Oscars recruited 397 new members, including artist Billie Eilish, Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, "Belfast" stars Caitríona Balfe and Jamie Dornan, and Disney executive Dana Walden.

This new class makes the Academy 34% women, 18% underrepresented, and 20% international.