Oscars is giving out gift bags worth ₹1.3 crore to nominees who don’t go home with the Oscar award this year. Such is the value of the gift bag that brands pay an exorbitant fee just to be included in the hope that celebrities will promote them.

According to a report by Marketing Brew, brands pay a $4,000 (approximately ₹3.28 lakh) to have their product/service in the bag.

What is in the gift bag this time?

• Luxurious skincare products
• Bath ritual sets
• Celebrity-founded tequila
• Luxury vacations to Italy and Canada
• Art Lipo body sculpting
• High-tech meditation orb
• Flip flops
• Various luxury food items such as honey, biscuits and more
• One-square metre plot of land in Queensland, Australia 
• Cosmetic surgery vouchers
• Inside are skincare products from Miage
• Silk pillowcase from Blush Silks
• Travel pillow from PETA

Premium products from…

• Ariadne Athens Skin Wellness
• All Better Co., 
• Bored Rebel, 
• Daily Energy Cards, 
• Effecti-cal, 
• Kind Reason Co., 
• KnowingLabs, 
• Maison Construction, 
• NaturGeeks, 
• Rareté Studios, 
• ReFa, 
• Proflexa, 
• Oxygenetix,
• Millions-Billions-Trillions Brand, among others

Featuring over 60 items, the gift bag this year has several premium beauty and lifestyle gifts, luxury vacations including a $40,000  (over ₹32 lakhs) getaway to a Canadian estate called The Lifestyle, a stay for eight people in a restored Italian lighthouse and ‘a symbolic souvenir’ of a piece of land in Queensland in Australia!

Those wanting to renovate their homes can use the $25,000 (over ₹20 lakhs) worth project management fees for home restoration from Maison Construction apart from lipo-arm sculpting, hair restoration services and a facelift.

While over 50% of the products reportedly come from companies that are women and minority-owned, the gifts will be delivered in Havaianas suitcases this year. The least expensive gifts include a pack of Clif Thins priced at $13.56, and an $18 loaf of Japanese milk bread from Ginza Nishikawa.

Who receives this coveted gift?

The Oscar gift bags are given to the hosts and the nominees for Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. Howevr, the recipients also have the right to refuse to accept gifts. Last year, actor Denzel Washington reportedly declined his gift and actor JK Simmons donated it to a charity auction, as did George Clooney in 2006. Moreover, the products and services in the bag are a gift, the recipient does need to pay taxes on it, as it is considered an income.

Also read: Oscars 2023: ‘Naatu Naatu’ from ‘RRR’ wins Best Original Song

In a major mishap on Sunday night, the compound wall of Hislop College situated at Civil Lines in Nagpur, broke after a white colour Honda City (MH 49 U 7188)  rammed into it. More details are awaited. 

Also read: 6 die in major high-speed car accident on Samruddhi Mahamarg after driver falls asleep

The condition of the car post accident on Samruddhi Mahamarg

Six people including a 12-year-old girl, four women and one man traveling in a high speed car on Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway (Lonar taluka of Buldhana district) died in a tragic crash on Sunday morning after the car driver Suresh Bharat Barve (35) fell asleep and lost control of the vehicle.

However, seven other passengers in the car including four small children along with the driver were rushed to Aurangabad for medical attention. Cops said the 13 people in the car were headed to Shengaon from Aurangabad. 

Sandeep Pise, an eye witness, claimed had the ambulance arrived on time,  several lives could have been saved. He told told mid-day, “I was working in my field around 7.55 am on Sunday when I heard a loud thud. I could tell that a major accident had occurred so I immediately rushed to the spot along with others working in the field. I saw women and children scattered on the busy road while a few of them were in a semi-conscious condition and the others were writhing in pain.

He added, “The accident took place near Shivni Pisa village, which is between two toll plazas, Mehkar Fardapur and Dusarbid, on the expressway. Both the toll plazas are around 15 km away, and an ambulance could have easily reached within 10 minutes. But it arrived after 45 minutes.”

“The only person inside the car was the driver, who later struggled to get out of the vehicle and started running here and there on the highway. Later the driver also fainted on the road. We called our relatives and friends from a nearby village. Around 100 people gathered in no time and we tried to call the authorities for immediate help,” he added.

“When a local police team reached the spot, they started to shoo us away when we requested them to rush the severely injured people to a nearby hospital. But the cops started to shout at us and they waited for the arrival of the ambulance that came after 45 minutes. Had the ambulance come a little early, at least a few lives could have been saved,” he added.

The Samruddhi Mahamarg, also known as Nagpur-Mumbai Super Communication Expressway, is open to traffic between Shirdi and Nagpur.

The deceased have been identified as Janhavi Suresh Barve, 11; Hausabai Bharat Barve, 75; Shraddha Suresh Barve, 28; Kiran Rajendra Bodade, 28; Bhagyashree Kiran Bodade, 25; and Pramila Rajendra Bodade, 52. Those rushed to the hospital, besides Suresh, are Namrata Ravindra Barve, 32; Rudra Ravindra Barve, 12; Yash Ravindra Barve, 10; Saumya Ravindra Barve, 4; Jatin Suresh Barve, 4; Vaishnavi Sunil Gaikwad, 19.

Also read: Oscars 2023: ‘Naatu Naatu’ from ‘RRR’ wins Best Original Song