Oscar-winning sound technician Resul Pookutty is among 135 artistes and executives who have been invited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to join as a voting member.
"The work of these individuals has been appreciated by moviegoers all around the world. The Academy is proud to invite each and every one of them," said Academy president Tom Sherak in a statement.
Elated over the news, Pookutty said that this is another recognition of the work by Indian artistes. "It's a great honour to be nominated as a voting member by the board of governors," Pookutty said.
Pookutty is the first Asian sound technician to be a member of the Academy.
The sound technician won an Oscar for his work in the Danny Boyle directed Slumdog Millionaire in 2009 along with A R Rahman who received two golden statuettes for his musical compositions in the same film.
The new members will be welcomed into the Academy at a reception at the Academy's Fairbanks Centre for Motion Picture Study in Beverly Hills in September.
The Academy's membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 180 new members in 2010, but as in other recent years, the several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them.
Voting membership in the organisation has now held steady at just under 6,000 members since 2003.
Among others in the list are Inglorious Basterds actor Christopher Walts, director Jacque Audiard of A Prophet fame and U2 lead singer Bono.
