Anora makes Oscars history by winning five trophies

Anora received numerous accolades at the 97th Academy Awards. It won five leading awards: Best Picture, Best Actress for Mikey Madison, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing for Sean Baker. After having previously won the Palme d’Or, at Cannes, it was a top contender alright but taking home so many top honours came as a big surprise. At his acceptance speech, he asked the viewers to go back to the theatres, where the real magic lies. “Where did we fall in love with movies? At the movie theater,” he reminded the crowd. “Watching a film in the theater with an audience is an experience. We can laugh together, cry together. … In a time in which the world can feel very divided, this is more important than ever.” Earlier, during his Best Editing speech, he mocked himself saying that the editor had saved the film on the editing table.

Justice for Demi Moore trended after Madison’s surprise win as fans felt that Moore, who played a woman struggling with complex emotions in The Substance was the deserving winner. Moore’s performance won her a Golden Globe Award, Critics’ Choice Award and Screen Actors Guild Award, and was the leading contender for the Oscar Best Actress trophy too.

Adrien Brody, as expected took home his second Best Actor Oscar for his seminal role of a Holocaust surviving architect who finds himself suffering alienation as an immigrant in America in The Brutalist. Some were disappointed that Timothée Chalamet’s turn as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown got ignored. If Chalamet had won it this year, he would have reportedly become the youngest male actor to win in this category. Adrien Brody and Halle Berry delighted fans worldwide when they recreated their infamous 2003 Oscars kiss on the red carpet. The moment set social media on fire and became one of the highlights of the Oscars. In 2003, Brody, who had just become the youngest winner of the Best Actor award for The Pianist, seized Berry, who was presenting the award and kissed her.

Kieran Culkin, who wowed audiences worldwide for his performance as a dysfunctional adult in A Real Pain, was the expected winner in the Best Supporting Actor category, with every critic rooting for him in their reviews. Jeremy Strong, who had worked with Culkin in the TV drama Succession, was another strong contender in the same category for playing Roy Cohn in The Apprentice. During his speech, Culkin praised his co-star, saying, “I love your work. It’s f—ing great.” Realising he was using the f-word on live TV, Culkin immediately acknowledged, “I f—ed! I cursed! There we go! I cursed! I didn’t mean to!”

The Best Supporting Actress was won by Zoe Saldana, for her performance in Emilia Perez. Saldaña was the front runner in the category, having won at the Golden Globe, the British Academy Film Awards, the Critics Choice Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards earlier. She was visibly moved and during her acceptance speech, spoke about her immigrant roots, “I am a proud child of immigrant parents, with dreams and dignity and hardworking hands. And I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award, and I know I will not be the last,” she said.

There was an Indian connection to the Oscars as Namit Malhotra’s DNEG, a world-leading visual effects (VFX), animation, and creative technologies company was honoured with the Best Visual Effects Oscar for its work on Dune: Part Two. DNEG VFX Supervisors Stephen James and Rhys Salcombe accepted the prestigious award alongside Production VFX Supervisor Paul Lambert and Special Effects Supervisor Gerd Nefzer.

Earlier, host Conan O’Brien kicked off the Oscar ceremony with a thoughtful shoutout to India. Speaking in Hindi to connect with viewers in India, he said, “Logo ko namaskar, Waha subha ho chuki hai to mujhe umeed hai ki aap crispy nashte ke sath Oscars dekhenge.” Conan was aware that the Oscars were being watched globally. Therefore, he welcomed the audience not only in English but also in Hindi, Spanish, Chinese, and other languages. His Hindi speech quickly went viral on social media. In his inherent style, he self-mocked himself on stage using film name references, “A Complete Unknown, A Real Pain, Nosferatu — these are just some of the names I was called on the red carpet.” Oscars have always been political, though Conan steered clear of political jibes. But he couldn’t resist when Anora won the Best Picture. He quipped: “I guess people are happy to finally see somebody stand up to a powerful Russian,” leading to a smattering of applause as people slowly caught the Ukraine war reference.

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