Suriya and Kajol are among the 397 people that have been invited to become members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In the wee hours of Wednesday (IST), it was reported that stars such as Billie Eilish, Jamie Dornan, Dana Walden and Leonard Maltin are among the stars who have been invited to become members. Suriya’s name was associated with the Oscars after fans were hoping his revolutionary film Jai Bhim would bag an Oscar nomination.
According to Hollywood Reporter, if the invitation is accepted, Suriya, Kajol and others on the list will be able to cast their vote for the Oscar nominations and winners. According to Deadline, the invitees this year include 71 Oscar nominees and 15 winners. The li also features about 44% of women and 37% of the group belong to underrepresented communities.
Suriya becomes the first Tamil/South Indian actor to have received the prestigious invite.
Besides Kajol and Suriya, the list includes Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, Ariana DeBose, Troy Kotsur, Paramount chief Brian Robbins and Disney general entertainment chief Dana Walden. Kajol and Suriya are yet to react to the invitation.
Kajol was last seen in a short film Devi helmed by the debutant director Priyanka Banerjee. The film also starred Neha Dhupia, Neena Kulkarni, Shruti Haasan, Sandhya Mhatre, Mukta Barve, Shivani Raghuvanshi, Rama Joshi and Yashaswini Dayam. She is currently working on Revathi’s upcoming film Salaam Venky. The film was announced in October 2021. Originally titled The Last Hurrah, the film’s title was changed when the shooting commenced. She is also rumoured to be making a cameo in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani.
On the other hand, Suriya was last seen in Kamal Haasan-led Vikram Vedha. Suriya has a cameo in R Madhavan’s upcoming film Rocketry: The Nambi Effect. The actor plays a journalist in the Tamil version of the film.
