Even as the Oscars tuned in to several Indian angles —- an VFX award, a Namaste from event emcee Conan O’Brien and heartbreak for ‘Anuja’ — ‘Anora’, the story of a New York sex worker who gets a chance at a new life when she marries a wealthy Russian client on a whim, won five Academy Awards on Sunday, including the coveted best picture Oscar.

In addition to best picture, Sean Baker won for best director, original screenplay and editing to tie the record for most Oscars won by an individual in one year with Walt Disney who won for four different films in 1954, Reuters reported from Los Angeles

‘Anora’s 25-year-old star, Mikey Madison (in the picture), was named best actress. ‘Anora’ was made for $6 million, a tiny sum by Hollywood standards. It emerged as the winner in an unpredictable Oscars race that included papal thriller ‘Conclave’, Jewish immigrant story ‘The Brutalist’ and blockbuster musical ‘Wicked’.

“If you’re trying to make independent films, please keep doing it. We need more. This is proof,” said Baker, a director known for making small films about porn stars, transgender prostitutes and other marginalized people.

Madison scored an upset over Demi Moore, who had been favoured to win best actress for her role in ‘The Substance’. “I grew up in Los Angeles, but Hollywood always felt so far away from me,” Madison said on stage, “To be here standing in this room today is really incredible.”

She said she wanted to “thank and honour the sex worker community.” She said, “I will continue to be an ally.”

‘Anora’ has generated $40 million at global box offices. ‘Wicked’, by comparison, has hauled in $728 million.

Adrien Brody (in the picture) claimed his second best actor Oscar for his role as a Jewish immigrant and architect who chases the American dream in ‘The Brutalist’. The 51-year-old New York City native had previously won for ‘The Pianist’, when he became the youngest best actor winner at age 29.

“Acting is a very fragile profession,” Brody said, “No matter where you are in your career, it can all go away. I think what makes this most special is the awareness of that.”

Zoe Saldana was named best supporting actress for her role as the fixer for a Mexican drug lord in ‘Emilia Perez’, a Spanish-language musical released on Netflix

The movie, which also won best original song for ‘El Mal,’ was a favourite for best picture earlier this year. Its chances dwindled when offensive social media posts surfaced from star Karla Sofia Gascon.

The actress, the first openly transgender person nominated for an acting Oscar, disappeared from the awards circuit but attended Sunday’s ceremony.

Kieran Culkin received the best supporting actor award for playing one of two cousins who travel to Poland to study their family’s roots in ‘A Real Pain’.

Winners of the gold Oscar statuettes are chosen by the roughly 11,000 actors, producers, directors and film craftspeople who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Midway through the show, O’Brien brought a group of Los Angeles firefighters to the stage and thanked them for their work during the January wildfires. He also invited them to deliver a few jokes.

“It’s great to be back with Conan,” said Pasadena Fire Captain Jodi Slicker, “Usually when he calls, he’s stuck in a tree”.

VFX Oscar & Indian Connection: The Oscars this year had an India connect that few knew about — Mumbai-based Double Negative (DNEG) played a critical role in creating the VFX for ‘Dune: Part Two’ (in the picture), which won an Academy Award for Visual Effects. And this, says CEO Namit Malhotra, is one more evidence of India’s growing power in the sector, a PTI report from New Delhi stated yesterday.

“The country that does most of the visual effects, more than any other country, is India. There are more Indians working (on VFX) in any major Hollywood film than there are in Indian films. That is a unique reality we are already in,” Malhotra told PTI on Monday shortly after the Oscar announcement.

Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer won the Oscar in the category for the Denis Villeneuve-directed sci-fi classic. Lambert, in his speech, acknowledged VFX vendors DNEG and Wylie Co, who helped make the land of Arrakis — a fictional desert planet in which the film is set — a reality.

“For our team to be honoured with this year’s Oscar for Visual Effects for ‘Dune: Part Two’ is an incredible achievement and another milestone in our journey. This recognition by the Academy—our eighth VFX Oscar since 2011—is another endorsement of the creative and technical leadership of our teams here at DNEG,” Malhotra dded.