Veteran costume designer and India’s first Oscar winner Bhanu Athaiya, 91, breathed her last on Thursday at her Mumbai home after a prolonged illness.
The ace costume designer took home the Oscar for her work in the 1982 film ‘Gandhi’, which was directed by Richard Attenborough. She shared the award for Best Costume Design with John Mollo.
Bhanu Athaiya, who was born in Kolhapur, began her career as a costume designer in Hindi cinema with Guru Dutt’s 1956 superhit ‘CID’. She was a two-time national awardee, receiving best costume design for Gulzar’s mystery drama “Lekin” (1990) and the period film “Lagaan” directed by Ashutosh Gowariker (2001). In 2012, Athaiya returned her Oscar to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for safe-keeping.
