Deepika Padukone Third Indian Presenter at OSCARS. Check The Other Two

Renowned Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone brought much pride to the nation when she was called at a prestigious Oscars 2023 to introduce the special performance on Oscars winning Best Original song ‘Naatu Naatu’ from the movie RRR.

Padukone was one of the presenters this year, as she joined global stars like Dwayne Johnson, Samuel Jackson and Emily Blunt for the ceremony.

“An irresistibly catchy chorus, electrifying beats and killer dance moves to match have made this next song a global sensation. It plays during a pivotal scene in RRR.. In addition to being a sung in Telugu and illustrating the film’s anti-colonialist themes, it’s also a total banger. Do you know Naatu? You’re about to,” she said at the stage.

However, Padukone is not the first Indian celebrity to grace at Academy Awards as a presenter but third Indian. Let’s look at the list of other two Indian presenters at Oscars 2023.

Persis Khambatta:

In 1980, Bombay-born  Perssi Khambatta became the first Indian to be invited to present an award, and she went onstage to present the award for Best-Feature-Length Documentary Film. She was an actor and model best known for her portrayal of Lieutenant Illa in 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Pictures.

Unfortunately, she died of heart attack in 1998 at 49.

Priyanka Chopra:

Decades later, Priyanka Chopra presented at Oscars alongside fellow Oscar presenters like Tina Fey, Jared Leto,  Reese Witherspoon, Steve Crell and J.K. Simmons.

Notably, Chopra presented nominees for Achievements In Film Editing and was accompanied onstage by American actor and director Liev Schreiber.