A Maharashtrian by birth, Bhanu Athaiya was the third children of her father Annasaheb and mother Shantabai. She was born on 28th April 1929. Although her birth name was Bhanumati Annasaheb Rajopadhye, later she changed her name to Bhanu Athaiya. Inspired by her father's art and paintings, Bhanu took an immense interest in painting as well. When she was only nine or ten years old, she started taking art classes. And that was only the beginning.
Since her early childhood days, she started taking lessons in painting, and soon she joined J. J. School of Art, Mumbai after finishing her school. Surprisingly, she graduated with a Gold medal and a fellowship.
But fine arts could not satisfy her enough. Soon, she changed her course of the path and tried her luck in fashion. Initially, she worked with a famous magazine named 'Eve's Weekly.' After spending a considerable amount of time in fashion illustration section, she switched her interest in boutiques. She started designing dresses. While she was on that job, her fashion designing works attract the attention of Kamini Kaushal, and she started designing her personal wardrobe. She switched her path again to films when Bhanu designed for Kamini Kaushal for 'Shahenshah' and 'Chalis baba aur Ek chor.' And after a short while, she got her first project as a costume designer in Guru Dutt's CID.
After CID, she worked on many other films as well. 'Kagaz Ka Phool,' 'Pyasaa,' 'Teesri Manzil,' 'Sahib Bibi Aur Golam', etc. were some of her big breaks in the kingdom of the film industry. She also worked on 'Waqt' by Yash Chopra and that movie dresses made a fashion statement for the young girls afterwards – the tight fitted Kurta and Churidar.
But Bhanu Athaiya's biggest moment of fame came when she designed dresses for movie 'Gandhi' in the year of 1982. According to Bhanu, it was one of the toughest projects ever. She had to capture 50 years of Gandhi's life, and a little mistake would have caused her a great deal of damage. And this is the movie, for which she won the Oscar. Thus, she became the first Indian to win an Oscar on an international platform.
After a huge 'Gandhi' moment, Athaiya's work has been praised across the whole country and world. She worked for 'Lagan,' 'Lekin' etc. She won many other awards too such as 'National Film Award for Best Costume Design,' Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award', etc. Currently, she is working as a fashion design consultant on a TV show named 'Mahabharata.'
Since her early childhood days, she started taking lessons in painting, and soon she joined J. J. School of Art, Mumbai after finishing her school. Surprisingly, she graduated with a Gold medal and a fellowship.
But fine arts could not satisfy her enough. Soon, she changed her course of the path and tried her luck in fashion. Initially, she worked with a famous magazine named 'Eve's Weekly.' After spending a considerable amount of time in fashion illustration section, she switched her interest in boutiques. She started designing dresses. While she was on that job, her fashion designing works attract the attention of Kamini Kaushal, and she started designing her personal wardrobe. She switched her path again to films when Bhanu designed for Kamini Kaushal for 'Shahenshah' and 'Chalis baba aur Ek chor.' And after a short while, she got her first project as a costume designer in Guru Dutt's CID.
After CID, she worked on many other films as well. 'Kagaz Ka Phool,' 'Pyasaa,' 'Teesri Manzil,' 'Sahib Bibi Aur Golam', etc. were some of her big breaks in the kingdom of the film industry. She also worked on 'Waqt' by Yash Chopra and that movie dresses made a fashion statement for the young girls afterwards – the tight fitted Kurta and Churidar.
But Bhanu Athaiya's biggest moment of fame came when she designed dresses for movie 'Gandhi' in the year of 1982. According to Bhanu, it was one of the toughest projects ever. She had to capture 50 years of Gandhi's life, and a little mistake would have caused her a great deal of damage. And this is the movie, for which she won the Oscar. Thus, she became the first Indian to win an Oscar on an international platform.
After a huge 'Gandhi' moment, Athaiya's work has been praised across the whole country and world. She worked for 'Lagan,' 'Lekin' etc. She won many other awards too such as 'National Film Award for Best Costume Design,' Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award', etc. Currently, she is working as a fashion design consultant on a TV show named 'Mahabharata.'
Source and Credit : https://beaninspirer.com/golden-lady-bhanu-athaiya-first-indian-win-oscar/