Veteran actor Kamal Haasan on Saturday dedicated his Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences membership to the Indian film community and the storytellers who shaped him.
Sharing a note on X, the 70-year-old actor wrote, “I am honoured to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.” He added, “This recognition is not mine alone, it belongs to the Indian film community and the countless storytellers who shaped me. Indian cinema has so much to offer the world, and I look forward to deepening our engagement with the global film fraternity.”
Haasan signed off by congratulating his fellow industry friends — Cannes Grand Prix-winning filmmaker Payal Kapadia and Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana — who are also among the Indians invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this year.
Representing India alongside Haasan, Kapadia and Khurrana are Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Smriti Mundra, costume designer Maxima Basu, cinematographer Ranabir Das, and casting director Tess Joseph.
Upon accepting the prestigious invitation, they will gain voting rights for the Oscar-nominated films at the upcoming Academy Awards.
The Academy Thursday unveiled its latest list of invitees, which includes a diverse mix of 534 professionals from the global film industry. Other notable names on the list include actors Mikey Madison, Kieran Culkin, Lol Crawley, Ariana Grande, Sebastian Stan and Brandi Carlile.
Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the Oscars in the past, have also been invited. The list also includes Hamdan Ballal, the Palestinian filmmaker who was picked up by Israeli forces days after his film won an Oscar. Brady Corbet, Coralie Fargeat, Maha Haj, Magnus von Horn and Gints Zilbalodis are also among the invitees.
With the inclusion of the new class, The Academy’s total global membership will surpass 11,000.
The 97th Academy Awards are scheduled to be held on March 15, 2026, with talk show host and comedian Conan O’Brien confirmed as the host. The voting for Oscar nominations will take place from January 12 to January 16, with the final list of nominees to be revealed on January 22.
Haasan was recently seen in Mani Ratnam’s Thug Life, which also features Trisha Krishnan, Ashok Selvan, Joju George, Nasser, Abhirami and Aishwarya Lekshmi in key roles. A.R. Rahman, who has collaborated with Ratnam on several previous projects, has composed the music. The actor-politician has Indian 3 in the pipeline.