“Lost a giant…,” Ashutosh Gowariker pays tribute to costume designer Bhanu Athaiya

Director Ashutosh Gowariker has mourned the demise of legendary costume designer Bhanu Athaiya. Athaiya, 91, died of prolonged illness on Thursday. She had won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for Gandhi in 1982, becoming the first Indian to win an Oscar.

Ashutosh and Bhanu Athaiya had collaborated on the modern classics Lagaan (2001) and Swades (2004). For Lagaan, Bhanu Athaiya had won the National Film Award for Best Costume Design. 

Sharing his condolences, Ashutosh wrote, 
 

Bhanu Athaiya’s last rites were held in Mumbai yesterday. She is survived by her daughter Radhika Gupta.