Hindustan Times
Actor Suriya, who achieved international recognition with his recent films Soorarai Pottru and Jai Bhim, recently became the first south Indian actor to be invited to the Oscars committee.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released its list of 397 artists invited to the Academy's Class of 2022 on Tuesday, which included Suriyas's name.
It comes after a scene from Suriya's Tamil legal drama Jai Bhim (2021) was shared on the Oscars' Youtube channel under the section, 'Scene at the Academy.'
The Academy announced its new members as it shared the list of the Class of 2022 on its Twitter account. 397 artists and executives have been invited to join Oscar's membership this year. The prospective 2022 class includes 71 Oscar nominees and 15 winners, with 44% of the invitees being women, and 37% of the group belonging to underrepresented communities.
The only other Indian actor apart from Suriya on the list happens to be Kajol. Filmmaker Reema Kagti, known for Gold and Made in Heaven among other projects, has also been invited.
Suriya will soon be making his entry into Bollywood as a producer as his company 2D Entertainment will be producing the Hindi remake of Soorarai Pottru, with Akshay Kumar in the lead opposite Bhumi Pednekar. It was recently revealed that the actor also has a cameo in the Hindi version, which remains untitled.
Soorarai Pottru is based on the life of Captain GR Gopinath – founder of the budget airline Air Deccan. It was originally planned for a theatrical release, but the film eventually opted for direct-OTT release due to the coronavirus pandemic. The project, which marked Suriya's maiden collaboration with a female director, also starred Aparna Balamurali, Paresh Rawal, and veteran Telugu actor Mohan Babu in crucial roles.
Suriya is currently shooting for a Tamil movie with filmmaker Bala, which will mark their reunion after two decades. They had last worked together in the 2003 Tamil film Pithamagan. He also has a Tamil project titled Vaadivasal in the pipeline. Vaadivasal, written by CS Chellappa, will unfold against the backdrop of Jallikattu, the ancient sport practised in Tamil Nadu in which a bull has to be captured.