Bhanu Athaiya, India's first Academy Award winner, passes away at 91

Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, 91, passed away at her home on Thursday after a prolonged illness. She is the first Indian to win the Academy Award. 

Athaiya's last rites took place at the Chandanwadi crematorium in South Mumbai. Her daughter, Radhika Gupta, confirmed that she passed away early on Thursday morning. Radhika told a news agency that her mother was diagnosed with brain tumour eight years ago and has been bed ridden for three years after one side of her body getting paralysed.

She began her career with Guru Dutt's 1956 film C.I.D. She won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi along with John Mollo. In 2012, she returned her Oscar to the Academy of Motions Picture Arts and Sciences for safe-keeping. She is also a recipient of two National Awards which she won for the 1990 film Lekin and 2001 film Lagaan. 

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