Bhanu Athaiya (née Rajopadhye; 28 April 192915 October 2020) was an Indian costume designer and painter. She was the first Indian to win an Academy Award. 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. She was the only woman member of the Bombay Progressive Artists' Group. Two of Bhanu Rajopadhye's artworks were included in the 1953 Progressive Artists' Group show in Bombay. After her switch from art to cinema, Bhanu went on to become one of the leading creators of the aesthetic of a young India through her work on costumes for Bollywood films. She worked on over 100 films, with Indian filmmakers such as Guru Dutt, Yash Chopra, B.R. Chopra, Raj Kapoor, Vijay Anand, Raj Khosla, and Ashutosh Gowariker, notably in films like C.I.D. (1956), Pyaasa (1957), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Guide (1965), Amrapali (1966), Teesri Manzil (1966), Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1979), Razia Sultan (1983), Chandni (1989), Lekin... (1990), 1942: A Love Story (1993), Lagaan (2001), and Swades (2004). She also worked on international projects with directors such Conrad Rooks in Siddhartha (1972) and Richard Attenborough in Gandhi (1982). For Gandhi, Bhanu won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design. Early life and background Athaiya was born in a brahmin family 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. 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'. 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. 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. 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