Bhanu Athaiya (née Rajopadhye; 28 April 1929 – 15 October 2020) was an Indian costume designer and painter.[1] She was the first Indian to win an Academy Award.[2][3] Alongside being Bollywood's most iconic costume designer, she had a historically important early career as an artist with contemporaries like M. F. Husain, F. N. Souza and Vasudeo S. Gaitonde.[4] She was the only woman member of the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group.[5] Two of Bhanu Rajopadhye's artworks were included in the 1953 Progressive Artists' Group show in Bombay.[6]
Bhanu was born in a Marathibrahmin family[11]Kolhapur in Maharashtra of British India. She was the third of seven children born to Annasaheb and Shantabai Rajopadhye. Athaiya's father, Annasaheb was a self-taught artist and photographer who worked in the films of Baburao Painter. He died when Athaiya was 11 years old.[12][13]
She studied at Sir J J School of Art, Mumbai, where she won the Usha Deshmukh Gold medal in 1951 for the artwork titled 'Lady In Repose'.[14][15][16]
Gold Medal Awarded by JJ School of Art in 1951 - VersoGold Medal Awarded by JJ School of Art in 1951 - Recto
Career
Bhanu started her career as an artist in Mumbai while still studying at JJ School of Art. Later she became a member of the Progressive Artists' Group and exhibited with them.[6][17] She continued her part-time stint as a freelance fashion illustrator for women's magazine like "Eve's Weekly" and "Fashion & Beauty". while at the JJ School of Art.[18] Later when the Eve's Weekly editor opened a boutique, she asked Athaiya to try designing dresses, hereupon she discovered her flair for designing clothes. Her success as a designer soon led to her switching career paths. Her costume designing career began by designing clothes for Guru Dutt's films, starting with C.I.D. (1956). She soon became a part of the Guru Dutt team.[19]
In March 2010, Athaiya released her book The Art of Costume Design, published by HarperCollins.[27] On 13 January 2013, Athaiya presented a copy of the book to the Dalai Lama.[28][29]
On 23 February 2012, it was reported that Athaiya wished to return her Academy Award to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences because she felt that her family will not be able to take care of the trophy after her demise.[30] On 15 December 2012, it was confirmed that the trophy had been returned to The Academy.[31]
In April 2021, as part of the New York Times "Overlooked" series of obituaries that were not written at the time of the person's death (in this case, October 2020), Anita Gates wrote an obituary of Athaiya. In it, Athaiya is quoted about her work on Gandhi: "Richard Attenborough was making a complex film and needed someone who knew India inside out," Athaiya told Eastern Eye, a British weekly newspaper, in an interview published last year. "So much had to be contributed, and I was ready for it."[32]
Personal life
Bhanu married a lyricist and poet, Satyendra Athaiya, in the 1950s. Subsequently in 1959, she changed her name from Bhanumati to Bhanu Athaiya. Satyendra died in 2004.[32]
In 2012, Bhanu was diagnosed with a brain tumour, which eventually lead to her suffering paralysis on one side of the body and was bed-ridden for the last three years of her life. She died on October 15, 2020, in Mumbai at the age of 91, at a medical centre in South Mumbai. She was survived by her daughter Radhika Gupta.[33][14]