In a proudest moment for India, filmmaker Mani Ratnam has been invited to be a member of the selection committee of the Oscars. Best known for movies like Ponniyin Selvan (both I & II) Roja, Dil Se, Iruvar, Bombay, to name a few, the National Film Award-winning director is one of the 398 celebrities who will join the membership of the committee of the Academy Awards.

Source: CNBC

Reportedly, Mani Ratnam, who has been in the Indian film industry for quite a long time now, has become the first Tamil director to join the selection committee of the prestigious awards.

The official Twitter handle of Oscars (@TheAcademy) shared the news on the platform saying, “We’re proud to announce our newly invited members to The Academy.”

“2023: New Academy Members,” a picture shared in the thread reads.

Check out the tweet here:

India is feeling proud of this news:

AR Rahman, who has worked with Mani Ratnam quite a few times, congratulated the ace director.

Here’s how fans are reacting to it:

https://twitter.com/suemeyuh/status/1674420792929710081
https://twitter.com/coverlettrhater/status/1674281004117155843

Watch Mani Ratnam’s journey in this clip:

On the official website of the Oscars, the list is named as ‘The Academy Invites 398 New Members for 2023’. In a joint statement, Oscars CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang said, “The Academy is proud to welcome these artists and professionals into our membership. They represent extraordinary global talent across cinematic disciplines, and have made a vital impact on the arts and sciences of motion pictures and on movie fans worldwide.”

Apart from Mani Ratnam, six members of the RRR team including Ram Charan, Jr NTR, MM Keeravani, Chandrabose, K.K. Senthil Kumar and Sabu Cyril have also been invited in their respective categories.

Coming back to Mani Ratnam, the legend truly deserves the recognition.