Nine years after starring in the Oscar-winning British drama Slumdog Millionaire, Dev Patel has created history by becoming only the third Indian-origin actor to be nominated for the most coveted cinema awards in the world. On Tuesday, he was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor (Male) category for Garth Davis’ Lion, the film adaptation of A Long Way From Home.

“Ok, so I just received a call to say that I’ve been nominated for an Academy Award…  To be totally honest, the news hasn’t made its way into my brain yet, but I’m looking at these beautiful smiling faces around me… Faces of the ones I love. And I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude,” said the 26-year-old upon learning about the nomination.

“Lion reaffirms the message that love is not dictated by the color of your skin, not by race, gender, sexuality, social status or origin. It is a message I am proud to be spreading during these uncertain times. This will forever be one of the most memorable experiences of my life,” he went on to add.

Including this, Lion has been nominated in a total of six categories – Best Film, Best Actor in A Supporting Role (Female), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Original Score. Actors like Nicole Kidman, Roone Mara, Sunny Pawar and Deepti Naval also star in prominent roles in the movie.

The last time an Indian actor was nominated for the Oscars was 13 years ago when Ben Kingsley made his way onto the nominees list for House of Sand and Fog. Merle Oberon was the first Indian-origin actor to earn an Oscar nomination for the movie The Dark Angel, back in 1935.

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