Bhanu Athaiya

Bhanu Athaiya
Athaiya at the Academy Awards, 1983
Born
Bhanumati Annasaheb Rajopadhye

(1929-04-28)28 April 1929
Kolhapur, Kolhapur State, British India
Died15 October 2020(2020-10-15) (aged 91)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
EducationSir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art
Occupation(s)Costume designer and Painter
Years active1947–2015
MovementBombay Progressive Artists' Group
SpouseSatyendra Athaiya
Awards

Bhanu Athaiya (née Rajopadhye; 28 April 1929 – 15 October 2020) was an Indian costume designer and painter.[1] She was the first Indian to win an Academy Award.[2][3] Alongside being Bollywood's most iconic costume designer, she had a historically important early career as an artist with contemporaries like M. F. Husain, F. N. Souza and Vasudeo S. Gaitonde.[4] She was the only woman member of the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group.[5] Two of Bhanu Rajopadhye's artworks were included in the 1953 Progressive Artists' Group show in Bombay.[6]

After her switch from art to cinema, Bhanu went on to become one of the leading creators of the aesthetic of a young India through her work on costumes for Bollywood films. She worked on over 100 films, with Indian filmmakers such as Guru Dutt, Yash Chopra, B.R. Chopra, Raj Kapoor, Vijay Anand, Raj Khosla, and Ashutosh Gowariker, notably in films like C.I.D. (1956), Pyaasa (1957), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Guide (1965), Amrapali (1966), Teesri Manzil (1966), Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1979), Razia Sultan (1983), Chandni (1989), Lekin... (1990), 1942: A Love Story (1993), Lagaan (2001),[7] and Swades (2004). She also worked on international projects with directors such Conrad Rooks in Siddhartha (1972) and Richard Attenborough in Gandhi (1982).

For Gandhi, Bhanu won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design[8] and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design.[9]

She was honored in the 'In memmoriam' segment of the 93rd Academy Awards.[10]

  1. ^ "Bhanu Athaiya: Costume designer who won India's first Oscar dies". BBC News. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  2. ^ Gates, Anita (22 April 2021). "Overlooked No More: Bhanu Athaiya, Who Won India Its First Oscar". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  3. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (15 October 2020). "Bhanu Athaiya, India's First Oscar Winner for 'Gandhi,' Dies at 91". Variety. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  4. ^ Ranjit Hoskote, Bhanu Rajopadhye Athaiya:The Legacy of a Long-hidden Sun, Academia, December 2020
  5. ^ Before Bhanu Athaiya, the Oscar-winning designer, there was Bhanu Athaiya, the modernist painter. Scroll. Jul 31, 2018
  6. ^ 1953 Progressive Artists' Group Exhibition Catalogue
  7. ^ Thomas, Kevin (10 May 2002). "Cricket in the Face of Colonialism". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  8. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (12 April 1983). "'GANDHI' IS WINNER OF EIGHT ACADEMY AWARDS". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  9. ^ "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  10. ^ Gittins, William (24 April 2021). "In Memoriam Oscars 2021: directors, actors and writers who died in 2020". Diario AS. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.