SSC
Who was the first Indian to win an Oscar (Academy Award)?
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Answer: Option A — Bhanu Athaiya
Detailed Solution
Bhanu Athaiya (1929-2020) was a costume designer from Kolhapur, Maharashtra. She won the Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Costume Design in 1983, at the 55th Academy Awards, for the film "Gandhi" (1982), directed by Richard Attenborough. She shared the award with the British designer John Mollo. She was the first Indian to win an Oscar.
Bhanu Athaiya trained as a painter at the Sir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai and was a member of the Progressive Artists' Group. She began her career as a costume designer in Hindi films in the 1950s, working on Guru Dutt's "C.I.D." (1956) and "Pyaasa" (1957). Over a career of about 50 years, she designed costumes for more than 100 films, including "Waqt", "Amrapali", "Lekin..." (National Award, 1991), and "Lagaan" (2001, National Award). She wrote a book called "The Art of Costume Design". In 2012, she returned her Oscar statuette to the Academy for safekeeping, as she was worried about its security in India.
Other Indian Oscar winners include:
Satyajit Ray received an Honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement in 1992.
Resul Pookutty (Best Sound Mixing), A.R. Rahman (Best Original Score and Best Original Song, "Jai Ho") and Gulzar (lyrics of "Jai Ho") won for "Slumdog Millionaire" in 2009.
"The Elephant Whisperers" (Best Documentary Short Film, directed by Kartiki Gonsalves and produced by Guneet Monga) and "Naatu Naatu" from "RRR" (Best Original Song, music by M.M. Keeravani and lyrics by Chandrabose) won in 2023.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Satyajit Ray received an Honorary Oscar in 1992, after Bhanu Athaiya.
A.R. Rahman won two Oscars in 2009 for "Slumdog Millionaire".
Resul Pookutty won the Oscar for sound mixing in 2009.
Quick tip
Remember: First Indian Oscar = Bhanu Athaiya (Best Costume Design, "Gandhi", 1983); Satyajit Ray = Honorary Oscar (1992); A.R. Rahman = 2 Oscars (2009); "Naatu Naatu" = 2023.
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Firsts in India & World — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Firsts in India & World, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the first persons and events in India and the world: the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize, the first woman to hold major offices, the first to climb Everest or reach space, and India's first institutions, newspapers, railways and satellites. It also covers the largest, longest, highest and smallest records in India and the world. These are pure memory questions, so revise them as short lists by theme: first women, first in sports, first in science and space, and first in governance. Be careful with the exact wording, such as 'first Indian' versus 'first person of Indian origin', or 'first woman President' versus 'first woman Prime Minister', since options are often designed to exploit this. Practise the firsts in India and the world questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.