Being a member of the Academy, Indian actor Ali Fazal attended the illustrious Oscar luncheon where Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg were also present. A record number of Indian films have been nominated for Oscars this year, including Shaunak Sen's All That Breathes, SS Rajamouli's RRR, which is up for best original song, and Kartiki Gonsalves's The Elephant Whisperers, which has been produced by Guneet Monga.
2018 saw the election of Ali Fazal into the Academy and the actor is now one of the Academy's youngest members from India. Guneet and Shaunak also attended the luncheon. Ali joined them and added his support for Indian movies. According to reports, the actor is currently in the city for work.
Opening up on the event, Ali told media sources, “It was great to be there alongside Shaunak and Guneet as a representative of Indian cinema. All That Breathes is one of the most iconic films I have seen in the recent past and to be there to see the film and our cinema being celebrated was truly a proud moment”.
Guneet posted several images from the luncheon on Instagram on Tuesday, including one of her posing alongside Ali and Tom Cruise. Her documentary short film, The Elephant Whisperers, which has received a nomination for Oscars 2023 narrates the story of a family which adopts two abandoned elephants in Tamil Nadu's Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.
Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, who have made it their life's work to rescue and rehabilitate injured birds, notably Black Kites, are the subjects of Shaunak Sen's film All That Breathes. This year, Tom Cruise's Babylon received many nods as well. The Oscars ceremony will take place on March 13.
On Tuesday, Ali’s wife Richa Chadha posted a humorous Valentine's Day message for him. She sang the song, Bhala Hai Bura Hai Jaisa Bhi Hai Mera Pati Mera Devta Hai, while sporting the distinctive raised braid hairstyle from the 1986 movie Naseeb Apna Apna. Ali responded to it in the comments section with a prolonged “hahahaahaha.”