Oscar awards are annual awards given by the United States Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for excellent and outstanding achievement in various branches of film-making. The major awards are for best leading and supporting actor and actress, best direction, best screen play and best firm. Another special Oscar award is given for the best life-time achievement. These awards are considered the most prestigious international awards in the field of world cinema.
The award was instituted by the Academy on 16 May 1929 and named after Oscar Pierce of Texas who was a wheat and fruit grower. The Academy was founded by Louis B. Mayer in 1927 with an objective to prevent the creation of a union of actors and artisans. Another aim was to improve the image of film industry by issuing awards for merit and distinction. Originally the award was intended to be a modest one with citations within the Hollywood film industry. But the importance of the award kept on increasing as broad media coverage generated widespread popular interest. Oscar award winning movies assured box-office success as was noticed from the increasing revenue of winning movies. Labelling of an Oscar worked like a trademark for the commercial success of a film.
The US Academy of Motion Pictures has an elected membership of some 3,000 film-workers who are considered to have reached the top in the industry or in their own field of specialization. Out of these members, specialists in 13 sections select the winning nominations, normally five in each category. A gold statuette known as Oscar is given to the winners in an annual ceremony in Los Angeles. The gold statuette is 13.5 inch long designed by. Cedric Gibbons. It is a gold-plated naked male figure that clutches a sword and stands on a reel of film with five holes – each representing a branch of the Academy.
The publicity value of the award was realized immediately after the first ceremony in 1929 and it is even more now. Today it is televised live. The Oscar ceremony traditionally draws the largest audience in USA. In the world film industry, it is considered to be the supreme award. This award opens the door of the golden hall of fame and hence all film personalities dream and strive to get an Oscar at least once in their lifetime. It is the ultimate thing that they can aspire for.
Among the record award winners, Walt Disney of Disneyland fame has won more Oscars than any other person. His medal count comprises 20 statuettes and 12 other plaques and certificates including posthumous awards. The youngest winner was Shirley Temple who received an honorary Oscar at the age of five and in competition section it is Tatum O’Neal who won it at the age of 10. The film with most awards was Ben Hur (1959) that won 11 awards in all. Actress Katharine Hepburn was nominated for a record 12 times for Oscar Awards.
Among the Indians to win a Oscar, the first was Bhanu Athaiya, who won one for the best costume designer in 1982 for the film ‘Gandhi’ and the other one was Satyajit Ray for his lifetime achievements in the year 1992. Ruth Jhabvala – a German woman but an Indian by marriage won it in 1993 for the best adapted screenplay for the film ‘Howards End’.
