India's first Oscar winner Bhanu Athaiya dies at 91

Mumbai: Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, India's first Oscar winner, died at her home on Thursday after prolonged illness, her daughter said. She was 91.

Athaiya, who won an Oscar for her work in the 1983 epic film Gandhi , passed away peacefully in her sleep, her daughter Radhika Gupta said.

The last rites took place at the Chandanwadi crematorium in south Mumbai

"She passed away early this morning. Eight years ago, she was diagnosed with a tumour in her brain. For the last three years, she was bedridden because one side (of her body) was paralysed, her daughter said.

The Kolhapur-born Athaiya, who worked till just five years ago, began her career as a costume designer in Hindi cinema with Guru Dutt's 1956 superhit "C.I.D.". She went on to work in over 100 films.

She won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi , with Ben Kingsley as the Mahatma, along with John Mollo. In 2012, Athaiya returned her Oscar to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for safe keeping.

The veteran who defined the aesthetics of Hindi cinema through her prolific work, created some of Bollywood's best remembered looks, including Vyjayantihmala in Aamrapaali, Waheeda Rehman in Guide and Zeenat Aman in Satyam Shivam Sundaram.

One of the most respected names in the film industry, Athaiya also worked with noted filmmakers like Yash Chopra. And in a career of more than five decades won two National Awards — for Gulzar's mystery drama Lekin (1990) and the period film Lagaan directed by Ashutosh Gowariker (2001).