While Indians all over the world are rightly going ga ga over A R Rahman's three nominations at this year's Oscar Awards, the Indian who first won the award a quarter century ago says she hopes Rahman win will demonstrate India's quality to the West.
Bhanu Athaiya won the Academy Award in 1982 for Best Costume Design for Richard Attenborough's Gandhi. "We are talking about going back 25 years," she said of her own award, "and I am very happy for Rahman for his nomination. You see we have been nominated in between but never made it this far. I truly hope that Rahman will change this trend and continue to show the West what treasures lie in India," says Bhanu. Asked what advice she had for Rahman, she said: "Just know that you have to be the best. And he is -- that's why he has got where he has. And now one can only hope for the right result. But from my experience I would say be ready for the press room. I remember when I walked in there were 3 rows of just photographers and this one cheeky photographer kept clicking my picture right from the time I walked in to fifteen minutes later when I had gained some composure. So you can get caught in a lot of different expressions and emotions!" laughs Bhanu. Athaiya says that the tide was against her when she started out on the film Gandhi with Richard Attenborough. "Gandhi was called an indo Brit film but in real it was an international film more than anything else. I remember Richard had interviewed me for 15 minutes before saying that he had found his designer." "I had all of 3 months to research, find, conceptualize and get all the costumes ready for the film. You see when you are working on someone like Gandhi you can't really do any cheating, no? He is the father of the nation and everyone knows everything about him all over the world. But I managed. A test was demanded of me and I think I delivered," says the woman who has gone on to win National Awards for her work in Lagaan and Lekin. Speaking about the big night in question, we ask Bhanutai if she was nervous as she drove up to the big auditorium. "Columbia had flown me to Los Angeles. I remember I was traveling in the limo with the writer of the film and he told me the Oscar will be yours. And then when I got there all the other nominees were seated in the same row as me and they all kept saying that I would win. But I had a simple formula, I had done my best and if I won great. If I didn't then that's fine," she says matter of fact, "And then when I got it I went up and I had no speech ready! So I just said three things `This is too good to believe. Thank you Richard Attenborough and thank you Academy' and then I walked off in the wrong direction and had to be brought back. And then we went behind into the press room. You know that's when it hits you!" http://www.starboxoffice.com/oscars/newsdetails.aspx?xfile=2009/January/News_20090123_189
