The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 529 people to join the Oscars voting body, including six Indians, including filmmaker and composer Vishal Bhardwaj.
The new members include actors Josh O'Connor, Jenna Ortega, Jacob Elordi, and Simu Liu, and filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie and Weapons director Zach Cregger.
Other new members include Anthony Ramos, Bill Skarsgård, Mia Goth, Jon Bernthal, Jemaine Clement, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù and Stephen Fry.
The Academy will number 11,319, with 10,338 voting members if all new members accept their invitations, almost doubling the number of Academy members from ten years ago.
Vishal Bhardwaj is the most high-profile name invited from India by the Academy this year, alongside film editors Deepa Bhatia and A Sreekar Prasad, costume designer Eka Lakhani, casting director Dilip Shankar, and Disney animator Avneet Kaur.
The makeup of the new class is 42% women, 56% from underrepresented communities and 53% from countries outside the U.S.
The 99th Academy Awards will be held on March 14, 2027, with Conan O'Brien returning as host for the third consecutive year.
