Just days after the Academy confirmed that singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava will be performing the Oscar nominated song ‘Naatu Naatu’ from SS Rajamouli’s magnum-opus RRR at the upcoming ceremony, another Indian star’s presence has been confirmed at the awards.
It is none other than ‘Padmaavat’ actress – Deepika Padukone, who will make her presence felt at the upcoming Oscars by presenting an award.
As you might know, the Academy, unlike most popular award-shows we know-of back home, is an invitation-only event – the presenters of the evening are also categorically selected every year. So not every big star gets to be a seat-filler, unless they had something remarkable come-out that particular year.
Deepika’s presence at the awards this year, may be a result of the global appeal of Indian cinema that has been curated after the juggernaut international success of RRR across all quarters.
Some other names that are going to come up on stage to present different awards this year include – Riz Ahmed, Emily Blunt, Glenn Close, Troy Kotsur, Dwayne Johnson, Jennifer Connelly, Samuel L. Jackson, Melissa McCarthy, Zoe Saldana, among others.
While India is far from making a mark at the Oscars in the acting department, with zero nominations to Indian actors in it’s nearly 100 year history, RRR’s path-breaking presence certainly promises to open more doors to Indian artists abroad.
It should also be noted that the film’s lead actors – Ram Charan and Jr. NTR were close to scoring a nomination this year, after being shortlisted amongst the top 10 performers of the year.
The 95th Academy Awards will air live on March 12 2023.