Celebrated Bollywood costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, India’s first Oscar winner, has died at the age of 91, her family says.
She had been bedridden in recent years after being diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2012, her family said. She died peacefully in the city of Mumbai.
Athaiya was renowned for designing costumes for top filmmakers in a career that spanned nearly five decades.
She shared an Oscar for her work on a biopic about Mahatma Gandhi in 1983.
The invitation by British filmmaker Richard Attenborough to work on the film about the Indian independence leader shot her to global prominence. She shared the award with prominent British designer John Mollo.
Athaiya had worked on more than 100 movies since the 1950s with noted filmmakers such as Guru Dutt, Yash Chopra and Raj Kapoor. She also worked on many Bollywood classics, including the Oscar-nominated film Lagaan in 2001.
“The work on Gandhi is closest to my heart,” she said. “We covered a huge span of 50 years of his life. To do that, and be a part of showing his life to the world, was a high for me.”
In 2012, she returned the Oscar to the Academy for safe keeping.
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