Priyanka Chopra is one of the newest members the Academy of Motion Picture of Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) and the actress has praised the ongoing push for racial and gender equality.
Following two years of sharp criticism and back-to-back ceremonies with an all-white slate of acting nominees, AMPAS last week invited a record 774 new members from 57 countries around the world to join the organisation's ranks, reported Entertainment Weekly.
The 34-year-old Indian actress, who made her foray into the West with the TV series Quantico, said the Academy should move beyond a single award for foreign language films and include them in other major categories.
Apart from Priyanka, other Indian stars who have been invited to join the Academy and vote in the Oscars include the likes of, megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, filmmakers Goutam Ghose, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Salman Khan, Irrfan Khan and Deepika Padukone.
Priyanka said the class of 2017, “does have a very diverse collection, including a few from my country, and one hopes that we all work together to push the larger picture. I'd like to see more opportunities for foreign films to be represented at the Oscars."
Actress Phylicia Rashad, Rinko Kikuchi, Aldis Hodge, Sanaa Lathan, Terry Crews, Colman Domingo, and Anna Deavere Smith, and Colombian filmmaker Patricia Cardoso have also accepted the AMPAS invitation.
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