94th Academy Awards to be held in Los Angeles: A.R. Rahman became the first Indian to be nominated in three categories
The 94th Academy Awards will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles today. According to Indian time, the event will commence today morning.
The top five nominees for the award in the best actor category include British actor Benedict Cumberbatch, American actors Will Smith and Denzel Washington, Spanish actor Javier Bardem, and Andrew Garfield.
Some notable and significant nominations for this year include Troy Kotsur, who is the first deaf actor to be nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for the film CODA. Denzel Washington’s nomination for The Tragedy of Macbeth marks his 10th Oscar nod, the most for any Black actor while Jane Champion becomes the first woman to be nominated for best director twice.
Belfast, Don’t Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, CODA, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, The Power of the Dog, Nightmare Alley, West Side Story are the films nominated for Best Film Category.
Kenneth Branagh, Paul Thomas Anderson, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Jane Campion, and Steven Spielberg are Nominated in the Best Director Category.

Meanwhile, India’s tryst with the Academy Awards started when Mehboob Khan’s Mother India in 1957, which was officially nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Since then, films such as Lagaan and Salaam Bombay have been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. Even though no Indian film has won an Oscar, some individuals have made India proud.
Bhanu Athaiya was the 1st Indian Oscar winner, taking home the trophy for Best Costume Design for the 1982 historical drama Gandhi.
Satyajit Ray received an Honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1992.
A.R. Rahman made history by walking away with two Oscars Best Original Score and Best Song (Jai Ho). For his score in a British-Indian film,Slumdog Millionaire. A.R. Rahman became the first Indian to be nominated in three categories at the Academy Awards.