IANS (BOMBAY TIMES; July 2, 2020)

Alia Bhatt and Hrithik Roshan are among 819 artistes and executives, who have received invitations to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). The 2020 invitees also include costume designer Neeta Lulla, documentary director Nishtha Jain (Gulabi Gang, Lakshmi And Me), writer Sabrina Dhawan (Kaminey, Monsoon Wedding), casting directors Nandini Shrikent (Gully Boy, Life of Pi) and Tess Joseph (Lion), visual effects artists Vishal Anand (War, Bharat) and Sandeep Kamal (Panipat, Jal), and V Senthil Kumar, the co-founder of the digital streaming company Qube Cinema Technologies.

If all 819 invitees accept their invitations, it will bring the total membership to 9,412. In turn, that would mean 45 per cent of the new members will be women and 36 per cent will be from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities. International make-up is 49 per cent from 68 countries. Those who accept the invitation will have voting rights at the 93rd Academy Awards.

“The Academy is delighted to welcome these distinguished fellow travellers in the motion picture arts and sciences. We have always embraced extraordinary talent that reflects the rich variety of our global film community, and never more so than now,” Academy president David Rubin said in a statement.

In 2016, the Academy promised to at least double the number of women and underrepresented ethnic/racial communities by this year.