South Asian diaspora represented at the 96th Oscar Awards

96th Oscar Ceremony

Mar 12, 2024

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The 96th Oscar Academy Awards ceremony took place on March 10, 2024, held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The event was presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and Raj Kapoor, a prominent member of the Indian diaspora was one of the producers of the ceremony, which was televised in the United States by ABC. Comedian Jimmy Kimmel hosted the show for the fourth time, following the 89th ceremony in 2017, the 90th ceremony in 2018, and the 95th ceremony in 2023.

Raj Kapoor, the executive producer and showrunner of Oscars 2024, is a Canadian from the Indian diaspora who grew up in New Delhi, India. He has earned six Emmy Award nominations and has worked with celebrities like Carrie Underwood, Michael Jackson, Eminem, Usher, Rihanna, and Nikki Minaj. A graduate from the University of Alberta in Canada where he studied English and Drama, Kapoor and has been in the business of producing shows for the last 24 years.

Raj Kapoor Oscar Producer — 96th Oscar Producer, Raj Kapoor from Indian Canadian Diaspora

Nisha Pahuja’s “To Kill a Tiger” was a proud nomination in the best documentary category but lost to “20 Days in Mariupol” directed by Ukrainian filmmaker and war correspondent Mstyslav Chernov. “20 Days in Mariupol” follows the story of Ukrainian journalists trapped in Mariupol after Russia's invasion. To Kill a Tiger is a documentary film centered on a family in Jharkhand, India, who are campaigning for justice after their teenage daughter was brutally raped. The 127-minute film charts the emotional journey of Ranjit, a farmer in Jharkhand, who forces a social reckoning after his 13-year-old daughter is the victim of a gang rape.

To Kill a Tiger, Nisha Pahuja — Nisha Pahuja's Documentary Film: To Kill a Tiger

In August 2023, Creators Faire reported that Dev Patel and Mindy Kaling signed on as executive producers; other executive producers also include Deepa Mehta, Rupi Kaur and Atul Gawande. In February 2024, Netflix acquired worldwide distribution rights to the documentary, planning to release the documentary on their platform as soon as possible, with Priyanka Chopra Jonas joining the film as an executive producer. On March 8, 2024, Pahuja announced that the film would be made available globally on Netflix two days later, coinciding with the 96th Academy Awards.

Dev Patel who stars as Dr. Chatterjee in Wes Anderson’s short film - The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, won Best Live Action Short Film, beating out The After, Invincible, Knight of Fortune, and Red, White and Blue. The film is a 39-minute adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1977 short story of the same name.

Dev Patel in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

Other members of the South Asian diaspora were present in the event such as Kal Penn, Rupi Kaur, Karan Soni, Sukki Menon, Nazrin Choudhury, Manish Dayal, Ali Sethi, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Sujata Day, Suraj Sharma, Archana Misra Jain, et al.