Actors Suriya, Kajol among 397 invited to join Oscars committee

CHENNAI: Tamil actor and producer Suriya and Bollywood star Kajol, are among the 397 artists to have been invited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The Vikram actor becomes the first Tamil/South Indian Actor to be invited to join the prestigious award show. Suriya was last seen in a cameo appearance in Kamal Haasan's Vikram.

The list of new members was announced by the Academy on Tuesday.

Academy members consists of actors, casting directors, costume designers, documentary, makeup artists/hairstylists, marketing/public relations and producers from all across the world.

Other Indians who have been invited this year include filmmaker Nalin Pan, documentary filmmakers Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas, whose film 'Writing with Fire' received an Oscar nomination earlier this year, filmmaker-writer Reema Kagti, 'Deadpool' producer Aditya Sood and PR and Marketing professional Sohini Sengupta.

44 per cent of the new invitees are women, 37 per cent are non-white, and 50 per cent are foreigners, according to a breakdown published by the Academy. The Academy's entire membership will be 34% female, 19% non-white, and 23% non-American if they all choose to join.