Deepika Padukone on becoming an Academy Awards member

Deepika Padukone who made her Hollywood debut with Vin Diesel’s xXx: Return of Xander Cage is excited on being one of the members the Academy of Motion Picture of Arts And Sciences (AMPAS) and the Mastani of Bollywood says she feels honoured to be included in the Class of 2017.

The 31-year-old actor took to Twitter to share her excitement as she wrote, “Honoured to be a new #Academymemeber.
@TheAcademy # Classof2017.”

Following two years of sharp criticism and back-to-back ceremonies with an all-white slate of acting nominees, AMPAS last month invited a record 774 new members from 57 countries around the world to join the organisation’s ranks. Apart from Deepika, Priyanka Chopra has also joined the Academy Class of 2017.

Talking about it in an earlier interview, the Baywatch actor said, “I am grateful to the Academy for including such a diverse amount of people from around the world. They ask us our opinions when we are the member of the Academy. I am very clear about my views and opinion and it is that the Academy opens itself upto nominations for foreign language films outside of just one category.”

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 and Irrfan Khan. However, Shah Rukh Khan is a major miss from the list and we wonder why.