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Ahead of the 95th Academy Awards, a look at memorable appearances by Indians at the Oscars over the years.

Come Sunday, Indian cinema is launching one of its biggest offensives ever at the Academy Awards. Naatu Naatu from S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR is up for Best Original Song; it won the Golden Globe, to frenzied jubilation everywhere, two months ago. Meanwhile, two documentaries — Shaunak Sen’s feature-length All That Breathes and Kartiki Gonsalves’s 41-minute The Elephant Whisperers— are in with a shout in their respective categories. It really does look like our year, with celebrations planned and congratulatory posts drafted out in advance. The cinephile excitement is at a peak, so what more could we want?

One answer is Deepika Padukone. Last week, Oscar enthusiasm hit the roof when it was announced that Padukone, after unveiling the FIFA World Cup Trophy in Qatar in 2022, will present an Academy Award alongside the likes of Riz Ahmed, Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt and Samuel L. Jackson. Padukone will be part of a double treat for Indians watching with sleepy eyes on Monday morning, with MM Keeravaani conducting a 2.5-minute Naatu Naatu piece on stage (sadly, no Ram Charan and Jr. NTR to lead the dancers; they’ll be in attendance with director Rajamouli).

Indians at the Academy

Indians, and Indian movies, have been thinly represented at the Oscars. In a history of 94 years, we’ve won six times (the number is marginally improved if you include the technical achievement awards). On the face of it, this shouldn’t be too depressing; the Oscars remain a predominantly American bash. Yet the Academy — a 9000-plus-members honorary body that gives out the awards — has been pushing for increased diversity, and includes many Indians. On a more pedestrian level, if there’s one country as frenetically obsessed with red carpets, flashy performances and celebrity jamborees as the US — the difference, perhaps, is only one of prestige — it’s probably India.

S.S. Rajamouli’s globe-trotting awards tour leading up to the Oscars might make it look like a breeze, but it wasn’t always the case. Indian artists, like Indian scientists and Indian sportspersons, have always starved for budgets. In 1957, the Academy created a separate competitive category for foreign-language films; a year later, Mehboob Khan’s Mother India was sent as India’s first official submission to the Oscars. Khan, already debt-ridden by the film’s gargantuan production, turned to Jawaharlal Nehru for help. He eventually reached LA with his wife Sardar Akhtar and attended screenings for Academy voters, with one concession: the famous sickle-and-hammer logo of Mehboob Productions was excised so as not to upset American sensibilities.

The stratagem didn’t help; Mother India lost out to Federico Fellini’s Nights of Cabiria, significantly — it is claimed — by a single vote. Khan attended the ceremony, but there contrasting reports of his response; he either laughed off the defeat with a smile or was crestfallen enough to suffer a heart attack the following day (Khan died of a heart attack on May 28, 1964, a day after Nehru’s death).

Like Khan, a young Vidhu Vinod Chopra also lacked the means for intercontinental travel when his An Encounter with Faces (1978) was nominated for Best Documentary Short (the saviour, this time around, was LK Advani, the then I&B Minister).

It wasn’t the same experience for Bhanu Athaiya, legendary costume designer and India’s first Oscar winner. Athaiya was awarded for her work on Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi. Columbia Pictures, the film’s distributors, funded her travel to the 1983 ceremony. A trendsetter back home — she dressed films as sartorially wide-ranging as Sahib Bibi Aur Gulam, Teesri Manzil and Razia Sultan. Athaiya walked up to the stage in a shimmery turquoise drape, paired with choker, danglers and handbag in tow. In contrast to the jokey patter of presenters Steve Guttenberg and Ann Reinking, her speech was simple and short: “Thank you Academy and Sir Richard Attenborough for focusing world attention on India,” she said.

Honouring the greats

By the early 1990s, the Academy had honoured world cinema giants like Akira Kurosawa, Jean Renoir, Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles. Now came Satyajit Ray’s turn. In March 1992, Ray was ailing in his hospital bed in Kolkata and could not attend the Oscars ceremony in LA. Audrey Hepburn, while presenting his Academy Honorary Award on stage, addressed him with the phonetically accurate ‘R-ai’ (as opposed to the anglicized ‘R-ay’ so many Indians prefer to use). Holding his golden statuette, in a beige embroidered panjabi, Ray joined via a video-feed and spoke of the influence of American cinema in his life. Despite his failing health (he died less than a month later), the master was calm, eloquent and funny — a tonality of televised award shows he understood too well.

The star of Indian cinema has risen piecemeal at the Oscars. In 1987, Chiranjeevi became the first South Indian actor to be guest of honour at the Oscars; two years later, Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay! was nominated. The new millennium saw Aamir Khan hobnobbing with Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington on the red carpet. His Lagaan was a big deal (ultimately losing out to Bosnian war drama No Man’s Land), but it was Slumdog Millionaire, eight years later, that really kicked down the doors.

Reminiscent of Naatu Naatu’s success, Jai Ho was already a globally downloaded sensation when it won the Oscar for Best Original Song – one of eight the film took home that year. Though a British production, and suitably problematized for its view of urban poverty in India, Danny Boyle’s film turned the Oscars into a joyous Bollywood night. A.R. Rahman, Gulzar and Resul Pookutty won awards, with Rahman winning two. Particularly touching was the final tableau during the Best Picture win — Anil Kapoor beaming, Irrfan Khan struggling to tuck in his cuffs, Dev Patel picking child actor Rubina Ali Qureshi in his arms. A typically Indian assembly, with a bunch of foreigners thrown in.

Deepika Padukone’s appearance at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday will certainly break the internet. Before her, Indian and Indian origin actresses — Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Mindy Kaling, Persis Khambatta — have all partook in the ceremonies, raising the country’s profile and visibility in the global media glare. Chopra, particularly, has displayed an internationalism characteristic of the 21st century Asian crossover star. Now Padukone is poised to do the same. It’s a shiny year for India at the Academy Awards. If a win marks the occasion, there will be nothing like it.

thehindu.com

India’s Envoy reiterated the nation’s commitment to the I2U2 partnership and made a strong pitch for all stakeholders to work towards achieving tangible progress in all I2U2 initiatives.

The inaugural Business Forum of I2U2 nations – India, Israel, the UAE and the USA – was held in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, making it the first event of this kind since the launch of the I2U2 group since its leaders’ summit in July 2022.

The Forum brought together senior private and public sector representatives from the member nations with discussions held on investment opportunities to address issues related to the management of the energy crisis and food insecurity.

The I2U2 partnership is a grouping focused on driving tangible economic cooperation between its members across a range of sectors, including food security, water, energy, space, transportation, health, and technology.

It aims to mobilize private sector capital and expertise to, among other objectives, help modernize infrastructure, decarbonize industries, improve public health, and promote the development of green technologies.

Hosted by UAE Minister of State Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, the forum was attended by Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ronen Levi and, India’s Economic Relations Secretary Dammu Ravi, while the US delegation was led by the Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W Fernandez.

“The officials reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing economic cooperation under the I2U2 framework, noting the significance of direct engagement between decision makers from I2U2 countries and private sector stakeholders interested in forming a future partnership,” said the MEA.

Ravi reiterated India’s commitment to the I2U2 partnership and made a strong pitch for all stakeholders to work towards achieving tangible progress in all I2U2 initiatives, including setting up an I2U2 Innovation Centre in Gurugram. In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call for LiFE-Lifestyle for Environment, he urged I2U2 partners to work towards a sustainable and environment-friendly lifestyle for all.

The I2U2 Business Forum aims to become a regular platform for private and public entities from India, Israel, the UAE, and the US to convene and establish tangible joint business ventures in I2U2’s core economic and technological fields.

newindianexpress.com

The 700-square kilometer Pangong Lake records a temperature of minus 30 degrees Celsius during winter, making the salt water lake frozen with ice.

The Union Territory of Ladakh has created history by successfully conducting its maiden 21-km trail running event in sub-zero temperature at 13,862 feet high Pangong Tso, which was registered in Guinness world record as the world’s highest frozen lake half marathon.

Spread across the border of India and China, the 700-square kilometer Pangong Lake records a temperature of minus 30 degrees Celsius during winter, making the salt water lake frozen with ice.

The four-hour long marathon started from Lukung and ended at Maan village on Monday with no injury reported to any of the 75 participants, Leh District Development Commissioner Shrikant Balasaheb Suse told PTI.

Named as the ‘Last Run’ to remind the people about the climate change and need to save the Himalayas, the marathon was organised by the Adventure Sports Foundation of Ladakh (ASFL) in collaboration with Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh, Tourism Department, Ladakh and Leh district administration.

“The first Pangong frozen lake half marathon is now officially registered in the Guinness book of world records,” Mr. Suse said.

He said besides spreading the message of ecological awareness among the stakeholders through sports, the marathon was also aimed at promoting sustainable winter tourism in border villages of eastern Ladakh to generate livelihood opportunities for residents especially in winters which is part of ‘vibrant village programme’ announced by Central government.

The run was flagged off by Chief Executive Councillor, LAHDC (Leh) Tashi Gyalson. Five energy stations were set up along the route, consisting of energy drinks, medical teams and oxygen support, along with mobile ambulances.

The district development commissioner said all the participants underwent six-day acclimatisation – four days in Leh and two in Pangong – in accordance with the SOPs decided by the district administration. The participants were also subjected to medical examination to ensure that they were fit for running.

All medical centres along the route were equipped with trained personnel and equipment to tackle any medical emergencies, Mr. Suse said, adding the event saw active support from Indian Army and ITBP in terms of medical support and logistics.

Union Territory Disaster Response Force personnel and Ladakh mountain guide association personnel were deployed along the route to ensure safety of the runners. The route was decided after proper inspection and size of frozen layer of ice, the officer said.

He said the participants were allowed to run only after wearing safety equipment to avoid slipping on ice.

After the successful conclusion of the event, the runners were felicitated with medals and certificates, while cash prizes were also given to first, second and third place finishers in both men’s and women’s categories.

He said the event was recorded as ‘Highest Altitude Frozen Half Marathon’ and a certificate was issued by Guinness officials on the occasion to LAHDC Leh and ASFL.

“Congratulations, we have made it to the world record. Indeed a successful event inspired by Prime Minister @narendramodi’s #VibrantVillages Programme for border regions,” Mr. Gyalson tweeted.

thehindu.com

The move will aid the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially students and migrant workers, by allowing instantaneous and low-cost money transfers between the two countries.

India’s Unified Payments Interface — better known as UPI — and Singapore’s PayNow were officially connected on Tuesday, allow for a “real-time payment linkage”. The virtual launch was led by a phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong. 

“Today is a special day for India-Singapore friendship and for our efforts to deepen collaboration in FinTech and innovaton. The participation of my friend PM Lee Sien Loong made this morning’s programme even more special,” Mr. Modi said. The linkage is set to ease financial transactions for the Indian diaspora.

Singapore has now became the first country with which cross-border Person to Person (P2P) payment facilities have been launched. “This will help the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially migrant workers/students and bring the benefits of digitalisation and FINTECH to the common man through instantaneous and low-cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice-versa,” said the Ministry of External Affairs. UPI payments through QR codes are already taking place in Singapore, though at a limited number of outlets. 

“Delighted to launch the linkage between PayNow and India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with PM Narendra Modi today. Congratulations to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Reserve Bank of India and all the stakeholders in Singapore and India who have helped make the linkage a reality,” Lee Hsien Loong said at the event.

Demonstrating the link, the Reserve Bank of India’s Governor Shaktikanta Das and the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Managing Director Ravi Menon made live “cross-border transactions” to each other using their mobile handsets. 

thehindu.com

35-year-old Mira Murati was born and raised in San Francisco, United States, however, her parents are of Indian origin.

Mira Murati is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at OpenAI, the company behind Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot ChatGPT.

35-year-old Mira Murati was born and raised in San Francisco, United States, however, her parents are of Indian origin.

She has completed her Bachelor of Engineering from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth.

According to her LinkedIn bio, she started her career as a Summer Analyst at Goldman Sachs and among notable assignments, was the senior product manager, of Model X at Tesla between 2013 to 2016.

Murati joined Open AI in June 2018 as Vice President, of applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Partnerships, and is currently CTO of Open AI, the California-based research and publishing company behind the development of ChatGPT.

Mira Murati says, AI can be misused

The AI chatbot ChatGPT was created by San Francisco-based OpenAI, a startup that conducts artificial intelligence research. The application was made available in November 2022. It is capable of talking about anything from history to philosophy, generating song lyrics and making changes to computer programme code.

ChatGPT has now become very popular across the globe. As per media reports, now experts are raising concerns about the dangers associated with AI software.

Mira Murati recently expressed her concerns about the chatbot and said that AI can be misused.

”AI can be misused, or it can be used by bad actors. So, then there are questions about how you govern the use of this technology globally. How do you govern the use of AI in a way that’s aligned with human values?” she told Time Magazine.

”But we’re a small group of people and we need a ton more input in this system and a lot more input that goes beyond the technologies–definitely regulators and governments and everyone else,” she noted.

siasat.com

The prize-winning picture was captured on the final day of his week-long photography trip to Alaska, in Eagle Preserve, where he watched bald eagles catch salmon from the water.

Karthik Subramaniam, an Indian-origin software engineer in the U.S. and a hobbyist photographer, has won the prestigious National Geographic’s ‘Pictures of The Year’ award with his photograph titled “Dance of the Eagles”.

Selected from nearly 5,000 entries, Subramaniam’s picture won the grand prize on Friday, earning him a feature in the magazine’s May issue alongside Nat Geo’s leading photographers.

The award-winning photograph captured a bald eagle intimidating its peers to claim a prime log while salmon hunting in the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve in Alaska.

“Every year in November, hundreds of bald eagles gather at Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska, to feast on salmon. I visited there last two November to photograph them,” Subramaniam was quoted as saying in the statement.

Salmon and chaos

Camped in the preserve, waiting for the perfect click, Subramaniam’s motto was, “Wherever there’s salmon there’s going to be chaos.”

The California-based software engineer started experimenting with wildlife photography only after being grounded by the pandemic in 2020, before which he used to capture landscapes and his travels.

The prize-winning picture was captured on the final day of his week-long photography trip to Alaska, in Eagle Preserve, where he watched bald eagles catch salmon from the water.

“They (the eagles) also seemed to have some favourite spots to hang out, and usually, commotion ensues when an eagle wants an already occupied spot. This photo was taken during one such commotion,” Subramaniam was quoted as saying in the statement.

“Hours of observing their patterns and behaviour helped me capture moments like these,” he added.

Homage to George R.R. Martin

According to the statement, he titled the photograph “Dance of the Eagles” as a homage to a fictional dragon war in George R.R. Martin’s novel A Dance with Dragons.

In recognition of his work, Subramaniam also received a six-month digital subscription to the magazine.

Tied to the annual ‘Pictures of the Year’ list featuring National Geographic’s top images of the year — 118 out of more than 2 million total — the photo contest invited aspiring photographers from across the country to submit the favourite image they captured in 2022, broken into four categories: Nature, People, Places and Animals, the statement said.

thehindu.com

The WSC will start on February 21 to continue till February 23 with experts and officials participating from across the world.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is all set to host the International Union of Railways’ 18th World Security Congress (WSC) to deliberate upon the various aspects of security.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is the law-enforcing agency of Indian Railways (IR) which is hosting the 18th World Security Congress (WSC) at Jaipur.

The WSC will start on February 21 to continue till February 23 with experts and officials participating from across the world.

The Ministry of Railways on Monday said that the theme of this year’s WSC has been set as ‘Railway Security Strategy: Responses and Vision for Future’.

The International Union of Railways is headquartered in Paris and represents the railway sector promoting rail transport worldwide. Railway said that the WSC will be attended by the heads of security of railway organisations from across the world, apart from the concerned officials of UIC and partner agency RPF of Indian Railway.

“It will be an event befitting with the occasion of India taking on the leadership of hosting railway security delegates from around the world,” said DG PR Railway Yogesh Baweja on Monday in a statement. He added that DG RPF has been made chair of the WSC platform, starting in pink city Jaipur from Tuesday over railway security vision and aspects.

“Sanjay Chander- DG RPF has taken up measures to enhance the involvement of member- organisations operating in Asia, Africa and several other developing countries with similar demographic patterns so that their voice could be heard and concerns addressed at multilateral platforms provided by the UIC,” he said.

The RPF will be the host for engaging with delegates (security representatives) of the member organisations of the International Union of Railways which is called UIC.

The DG PR Railway said that the entire congress has been divided into 4 sessions with underlying sub-themes Protecting Critical Assets and Freights, Human security Approach, the best railway security tools and practices across the world and Visison-2030. Earlier, the same congress was organised in 2006 and 2015 by the RPF hosting the International Union of Railways in New Delhi.

RPF DG Sanjay Chander has also taken over the chairmanship of the International UIC Security Platforms from July 2022 to July 2024. The UIC promotes strategic and tactical cooperation amongst world railway sectors as it negotiates its evolving relationship with global governments and security across the continents.

“In a global scenario where criminal elements exploit the advantages of networking to devise newer ways and means of attack, it is highly imperative that positive forces also come together to face such challenges,” the DG PR Railway said. 

newindianexpress.com

Ayushmann was appointed UNICEF India’s Celebrity Advocate in September 2020 to advocate for ending violence against children and the broader child rights agenda.

NEW DELHI: Actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who has always been vocal about children’s rights, on Saturday joined hands with UNICEF to show his support towards ensuring the right of every child to survive, thrive, and be protected.

Today, UNICEF India announced the appointment of the ‘Dream Girl 2’ actor as a National Ambassador.

Speaking at the conferment Ayushmann said,” It is truly an honour to further my advocacy for children’s rights with UNICEF India as a National Ambassador. I am passionate about the issues facing children and adolescents in India. As UNICEF’s Celebrity Advocate, I have interacted with children and spoken on internet safety, cyberbullying, mental health, and gender equality. In this new role with UNICEF, I will keep up a strong voice for children’s rights, especially for the most vulnerable supporting solutions for issues that impact them the most.”

Welcoming Ayushman Khurrana as the National Ambassador for children’s rights, Cynthia McCaffrey, UNICEF India Representative said, “I am delighted to welcome Ayushmann Khurrana as UNICEF India’s National Ambassador. Ayushmann’s strong commitment over the last two years as UNICEF’s Celebrity Advocate has helped amplify and drive the work of protecting the rights of children. He is one of India’s biggest movie stars, and we are thrilled that he is using that powerful voice to stand with children and challenge harmful social norms and gender stereotypes. And it is a voice that resonates with UNICEF’s work and ethos in its sensitivity and passion. We look forward to working with him on the most critical child rights issues of our time – ending violence, mental well-being, and gender equality- and towards a better future for every child.”

Ayushmann was appointed UNICEF India’s Celebrity Advocate in September 2020 to advocate for ending violence against children and the broader child rights agenda.

His active participation in World Children’s Day, adding his voice and influence on International Women’s Day, International Day of the Girl Child, World Day Against Child Labour, and Safer Internet Day raised the profile of children’s causes and received wide public attention.

Most recently he focused attention on inclusion and non-discrimination through gender-inclusive sports on World Children’s Day 2022 with Sachin Tendulkar, Regional Ambassador for UNICEF South Asia, and with girls and boys participating from across India.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Ayushmann will be seen in the sequel to his hit franchise Dream Girl 2. The film will also feature Ananya Panday.

newindianexpress.com