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. She made her debut as a film costume designer with the film C.I.D. in 1956, and followed it up with other Guru Dutt films such as Pyaasa (1957), Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960) and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962). In her career spanning 50 years she has received numerous awards. She won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design (shared with John Mollo) for her work in the 1982 film, Gandhi and became the first Indian to win an Academy Award. She also won two National Film Awards, in 1991 and 2002. In a career spanning over 100 films, she worked with Indian filmmakers such as Guru Dutt, Yash Chopra, B.R. Chopra, Raj Kapoor, Vijay Anand, Raj Khosla, and Ashutosh Gowariker, and international directors such Conrad Rooks and Richard Attenborough. In March 2010, Athaiya released her book The Art of Costume Design, published by Harper Collins. On 13 January 2013, Athaiya presented a copy of the book to the Dalai Lama. 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. On 15 December 2012, it was confirmed that the trophy had been returned to The Academy. 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." 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. 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