Kamal Haasan, Ayushmann Khurrana and Payal Kapadia among 534 new Academy members

Los Angeles: Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan, Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana and "All We Imagine As Light" writer-director Payal Kapadia are among the 534 artists invited this year to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The list this year includes a set a influential names from different branches of Hollywood and international cinema and also features several Indian artists.

Besides Haasan, Khurrana and Kapadia, the list also features "Gully Boy" casting director Karan Mally, "All We Imagine As Light" cinematographer Ranabir Das and its costume designer Maxima Basu among others.

"We are thrilled to invite this esteemed class of artists, technologists, and professionals to join the Academy,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang.

“Through their commitment to filmmaking and to the greater movie industry, these exceptionally talented individuals have made indelible contributions to our global filmmaking community.”

Of the 2025 invited class, 41 per cent are women, 45 per cent belong to underrepresented communities, and 55 per cent are from 60 countries and territories outside the United States. There are 91 Oscar nominees, including 26 winners, and three Scientific and Technical Award winners among the invitees.

Other distinguished names include actors Gillian Anderson, Jodie Comer, Emma Corrin, Kieran Culkin, Margaret Qualley, Andrew Scott and Jeremy Strong.

Indian origin Canadian producer Raj Kapoor features in the list, which also includes Ravi Ahuja in the executive category, Indian origin American music composer Siddharth Khosla, Indian origin Canadian musician Amrita Vaz, Chaitanya Chinchlikar, Momita SenGupta and documentary filmmaker Smriti Mundhra, visual effects artists Ravi Bansal and Abishek Nair.

In the director's category, Coralie Fargeat, Mike Flanagan and Miguel Gomes are included among others. The Academy’s membership process for its 19 branches and one membership classification is conducted by sponsorship, not application. Except for Associates, candidates must be sponsored by two Academy members from the branch or category to which the candidate seeks admission.

In addition, Academy Award nominees are automatically considered for membership in the year in which they are nominated and do not require sponsors.