SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE bags a whopping 10 OSCAR NOMINATIONS


Danny Boyle’s Golden Globe-winning Slumdog Millionaire has got ten nominations across nine categories. The film, a story based on Mumbai slums has been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Motion Picture, Best Director for Danny Boyle and Best Original score for AR Rahman, Best original song for Jai Ho and O Saaya, Best sound mixing, Best sound editing, Best editing and Best cinematography at the Oscars.

There is already a strong buzz going around that after his Golden Globe win, Rahman will definitely be winning the coveted Oscar trophy.

Other Oscar hopefuls this year are - Double golden globe winner Kate Winslet for her role in both Revolutionary Road and The Reader, Meryl Streep for Doubt, Brad Pitt for The curious case of Benjamin Button and Sean Penn for his portrayal of gay political activist Harvey Milk in Milk. Frost/Nixon, Mickey Rourke starrer The Wrestler and Angelina Jolie’s Changeling are the other key contenders.

i predict that Slumdog will bag a few of the GOLDEN GUY

amid strong competition...India will hit the headlines once again...Jai Hind..

hip hip hooray....hip hip hooray

Jan 22 2009 3:15 PM EST

'Slumdog Millionaire' Continues Award-Season Domination With 10 Oscar NominationsNominated composer A.R. Rahman says film has 'paid magical dividends for so many people around the globe.'
By Eric Ditzian

The big winner from this month's Golden Globes staked a significant claim to Oscar glory Thursday morning (January 22).

"Slumdog Millionaire," the story of a destitute Indian boy named Jamal struggling to survive and locate the lost love of his life, garnered 10 Oscar nominations, including nods for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Score. The accomplishment comes on the heels of four Globe wins for the film. While "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" secured more total Oscar nominations (13), "Slumdog" must be considered a favorite heading into the ceremony at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on Sunday, February 22.

In both the Best Picture and Best Director categories, "Slumdog" faces almost the exact same foes — "Benjamin Button," "Frost/Nixon," "The Reader" — it triumphed over at the Globes (the only divergence in both cases is that "Milk" has taken over for "Revolutionary Road"). Of course, good fortune at the Globes is no sure indication of any victories at the Oscars.

Among the other "Slumdog" nominations were selections for Cinematography, Film Editing, Original Score, Original Song and Adapted Screenplay.

With a script from the writer of "The Full Monty," a director who has been critically praised but never entered into mainstream award-season chatter and a story planted firmly in Indian history and culture, "Slumdog" seemed like anything but a surefire hit for Warner Bros. Yet the film has established itself as this year's Cinderella story, and while that distinction is often applied as much to mock a movie ("Juno," anyone?) as it is to praise it (how about "Little Miss Sunshine"?), "Slumdog" has come in for almost universal acclaim.

Director Danny Boyle first made a name for himself with the intense, surreal heroin drama "Trainspotting" and went on to deliver both disappointments (Leonardo DiCaprio vehicle "The Beach") and surprises (terrifying zombie fest "28 Days Later"). But all of his films — even 2007's confounding "Sunshine" — have been riveting simply to watch. With "Slumdog," Boyle found the perfect story to meet his kinetic visual style, and Academy voters took note.

For as much praise that has been showered on the drama, its actors have been conspicuously ignored this award season. Boyle has become known for breaking new, strong male actors (Ewan McGregor in "Trainspotting," Cillian Murphy in "28 Days"), and Dev Patel (BBC's "Skins"), who plays the grownup Jamal, follows in that same tradition. His sweaty, stoic performance competing on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and explaining to a police inspector how a poor kid from Mumbai can even know the quiz-show answers more than holds up when compared to earlier Boyle-directed roles. Similarly strong performances overlooked by awards voters include those by Anil Kapoor (the game-show host) and Irrfan Khan (the police inspector).

While the acting is undoubtedly first-rate and Boyle's whip-fast pace provides a satisfying sense of chaotic energy, perhaps the film's driving force is its score. Credit goes to Indian music legend A.R. Rahman, who locked in three Oscar noms for Best Original Score and two for Best Original Song, including the infectious tune "O Saya," performed by M.I.A.

"I am overjoyed by this nomination and deeply grateful that the Academy has embraced the music of this film," Rahman said after learning of the nominations. " 'Slumdog Millionaire' has paid magical dividends for so many people around the globe."

The Boyle/Rahman tandem proved to be highly successful, but it was something of a last-minute endeavor. Late last year, Rahman told MTV News that Boyle was already filming in India when the director called and asked if the musician would like to score "Slumdog." Rahman said that usually the first thing people ask him is, "Can you get an Oscar for us? Can you give us heaven?"

Rahman never revealed what his typical answer is, but in this case, he just might deliver on that near-impossible request.

Will it be a curious night for "Benjamin Button"? Can "Slumdog Millionaire" rise out of obscurity to grab Oscar gold? Will Brad Pitt surprise leading contenders Mickey Rourke and Sean Penn? The MTV Movies team has the Academy Awards covered every which way, with news, interviews, photos and more. Check out a complete list of the Oscar nominees here and keep it locked on MTVNews.com until the statues are handed out on February 22.

Check out everything we've got on "Slumdog Millionaire."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

'Slumdog?' becomes India's star-spangled Oscar dream
Posted: 10:59p.m IST, January 22, 2009

Los Angeles, Jan 22 (IANS)

British filmmaker Danny Boyle's rags-to-riches Bollywood style musical 'Slumdog Millionaire' has finally brought the elusive and coveted Oscar dream within grabbing distance of India - with music maestro A.R. Rahman nominated for three Oscars in the main category.

The film has got 10 nominations, of which three are for the film's music - best original score and two for the best original songs - 'Jai ho' and 'O saya', for the 81st Annual Academy Awards.


Other nominations include for best motion picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, best film editing, best sound editing, best sound mixing and best cinematography.
The winners will be announced Feb 22 at Kodak Theatre here.

'The nominations have given me a great feeling. My inspiration to compose the music was the movie, its thought and the message in the film,' said an ecstatic Rahman after receiving news of the nominations in Chennai. He had won the Golden Globe for the best original score for the movie.


'Slumdog Millionaire', which is based on diplomat Vikas Swarup's novel 'Q & A', is a moving tale of a slum boy's win at a TV reality show. Apart from Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan and Freida Pinto, the film stars British-Indian debutant Dev Patel.


Releasing Friday in India, the movie has already raked in $43 million at the US box office and jumped itself back to the US Top 10.


The movie ends in the trademark Bollywood musical style with a joyous song called 'Jai ho', which has won much applause from Western critics.


Renowned film critic Ty Burr from The Boston Globe raved about the end sequence.


'The Bollywood dance scene that explodes under the closing credits feels both incongruous and earned: Young India kicking up its heels. You may even feel like dancing in the aisles yourself,' he said.


Rahman's composition has appealed to other international critics as well.


Lauding 'Slumdog?''s music, Mal Vincnet from The Virginian-Post had said: 'A festive musical score by A.R. Rahman, complete with a best-song candidate in the lively 'Jai Ho' Bollywood finale, and you have a film that is as engaging to listen to as it is to watch.'


Michael Sragow from The Baltimore Sun said: 'Boyle brings down the curtain with a musical number that registers as a gift from movie heaven. He breaks your heart, then heels it - and sends you out with a song.'


The movie triumphed at various awards across the globe. Screen Actors Guild Awards, London Critics Circle Award, New York Film Critics Circle Awards, Satellite Awards, Toronto Film Festival, British Independent Film Award - to name a few.


The major win was at the Golden Globes, considered to be a precursor to the Oscars.


'We were not expecting so much at all. We were hoping...but 10 nominations is so unreal! And A.R. Rahman has made a wonderful track record. He totally deserves the three nominations and has made the country proud. Without his music, 'Slumdog?' wouldn't have been the same,' Freida told IANS.


In the Oscar run, Brad Pitt starrer reverse-ageing drama 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' leads the race with 13 nominations.


The runners-up are 'Batman Begins' sequel 'The Dark Knight' and Elliot Graham's biopic on San Francisco gay activist Harvey Milk 'Milk' - receiving eight nominations each.


While Sean Penn got nominated as best actor in a leading role category, Josh Brolin has received the best actor nomination in a supporting role for 'Milk'.


Late Australian actor Heath Ledger received the highly anticipated posthumous nomination for the best supporting actor for his performance as the iconic villain The Joker in 'The Dark Knight'.


Veteran actress Meryl Streep received her 15th nomination at the Oscars for 'Doubt', alongside British actress Kate Winslet for best actress in Stephen Daldry's 'The Reader'.


'The Reader' and 'Doubt' in all have received five nominations each.

http://news.smashits.com/34189...gled-Oscar-dream.htm

'Slumdog Millionaire' is wonderful, I'm happy for Rahman: Bachchan

Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, who had stoked a controversy by slamming "Slumdog Millionaire", Friday said the movie was "wonderful" and expressed happiness that composer A.R. Rahman won three Oscar nominations for his score and songs in the movie.

"The sound engineer of this wonderful movie 'Slumdog Millionaire', Rasool, an Indian, has also won a nomination along with Rahman. I am so happy. Bhanu Athaiya was the last Indian to win an Oscar for the designing the costumes of Richard Attenborough's 'Gandhi' in 1982," Bachchan said at an overflowing venue at the Jaipur Literature Festival.

Referring to his comment regarding "Slumdog Millionaire" that "the film projects India as Third World's dirty underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots", he said: "I write a blog. But the opinions expressed in my blog were not my own. So many people write on my blog site and I was just quoting one of them. I have spoken to Anil Kapoor and Danny Boyle and cleared the misgivings. But everyone must have freedom of expression."

AR Rahaman

feels on top of the world with Oscar nominations....

jai ho


the song n dance that facinates america..talk show...Ellen DeGen...

ringa ringa

Slumdog soundtrack...

dreams on fire

english version..hhhmmmmmm..for english audience...smrt move...

Oscar nominations 2009: Indian director 'overlooked' for Slumdog Millionaire awards

Slumdog Millionaire, favourite for best picture at the Oscars, is at the centre of an equality row after the film's female co-director, Loveleen Tandan, was denied a nomination.


Indian film-maker Loveleen Tandan shot many of the scenes in the box office hit and made key script changes, including rewriting the children's dialogue in Hindi to create a more authentic feel.

However, only the British director Danny Boyle has been put forward for awards, sparking protest from women in the industry.

A group called Women in the Audience Supporting Women Artists Now has launched an online campaign urging Boyle to share his name with Tandan on the Academy Awards ballot.

The group's spokeswoman, Chicago film critic Jan Lisa Huttner, asked: "If she's co-director during the film-making and marketing process, why isn't she co-nominee when the awards are passed out?"

Rules laid out by the Director's Guild of America in 1978 stated that there can be only one director per feature film. In 2004, there was controversy when Fernando Mereilles was Oscar-nominated for City of God while his female co-director, Katia Lund, was not.

The rule is occasionally waived, as when brothers Joel and Ethan Coen were allowed to share the best director Oscar for No Country For Old Men last year.

Tandan is an unusual case because she was initially appointed as casting director. However, she was promoted to the role of co-director in recognition of her contribution to the making of the film. Boyle said of her decision to change a third of the dialogue to Hindi: "As soon as she did it, the scenes just transformed. A good decision follows a good decision, and our first good decision was hiring Loveleen."

The controversy has embarrassed Tandan, who has insisted she does not want a proper director credit. When Huttner lobbied the Golden Globes voters at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association on the issue, Tandan sent the HFPA a letter which read: "The suggestion is highly inappropriate, and I am writing to you to stress that I would not wish it to be considered."

At the Slumdog Millionaire premiere in Mumbai, she reiterated the point. "My credit is not 'direcetd by'. It is co-director: India," she said. "I am greatly honoured by the credit I have been accorded. It would be a grave injustice if the credit I have should have the effect of diminishing Danny Boyle's magnificent achievement."

Of the film's 10 Oscar nominations, only the music and sound categories feature Indian contributors.

By Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor
Last Updated: 2:58PM GMT 23 Jan 2009

boys on train

for those who have not seen it yet...check clips for short n sweet glimpses...

I saw it on premier day back in December.

It's a must-see. Given that it won the Golden Globes and BAFTA "Best Picture" awards, the Oscar's "Best Picture" looks good for Slumdog Millionaire.

It's a wonderful movie on so many levels.

quote:

Originally posted by Kari:
I saw it on premier day back in December.

It's a must-see. Given that it won the Golden Globes and BAFTA "Best Picture" awards, the Oscar's "Best Picture" looks good for Slumdog Millionaire.

It's a wonderful movie on so many levels.

havn't seen it yet...2 buzzy during holidays...then down wid deh flu....am planning for this w/e..wid deh family..but look like it will be cold again and meh throat feeling funny aready...

btw i do predict it will win a few of the GOLDEN GUY at the Oscar....including one for AR Rahaman music... plus movie...++++++++++
at least it has 10 chances... lets keep our fingers cross for INDIA...

hey..Oprah talk to the Director Danny and stars Dev n Freida via Skye...
said they sounded like they talking fm the moon...
congratulating them and wanted to know what it felt like for the movie to get 10 Oscar nominations...

quote:

Originally posted by RQ:
jai ho


the song n dance that facinates america..talk show...Ellen DeGen...

nice song.....i like, i like

meh tuh meh tuh...gat meh sons dem into deh groove wid dis wan...

source


Slumdog Millionaire bags two more US film industry awards

WASHINGTON: Danny Boyle's acclaimed film "Slumdog Millionaire" has taken home two more major US film industry awards over the weekend, winning the Slumdog Millionaire actors hold their awards at the 15th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles. (Reuters)
More Pictures
top prizes from both the Screen Actors Guild and the Producers Guild of America. ( Watch )

Bollywood stars Anil Kapoor and Irfaan Khan, British Indian Actor Dev Patel, and newcomer Freida Pinto received the overall cast prize for the Mumbai-set rags-to-riches saga at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles Sunday night from Anthony Hopkins.

Anil Kapoor, accepting on behalf of the "Slumdog Millionaire" cast, dedicated the award to the slum children shown in the movie.

"They deserve this award. They set our performances," he said. "It's the children who've done it, not us."

The Oscar-nominated film tells the heart-warming story a young man from the slums of Mumbai who risks all for love and for a shot at instant wealth as a contestant on the Indian version of the TV game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire".

Patel, who plays the protagonist, and Pinto, his ladylove, introduced the film clip at the event.

"Slumdog Millionaire" also won the top prize from the Producers Guild of America on Saturday, giving it another boost in the race for the Oscars next month.

The top award from the Producers Guild of America or PGA goes to the movie's producer, in this case Christian Colson, whose previous feature credits consist of three relatively obscure thrillers.

Meanwhile, following its 10 Oscar nominations and expansion into more theatres, "Slumdog Millionaire" has jumped into the North American Top Five for the first time in its 11-week run with its weekend gross soaring by 80 percent to $10.55 million.

Now running in 1,411 theatres across America, up 829 from last weekend, the film has to date grossed a total of $55.92 million, according to the movie website boxofficeguru.com.

The Producers Guild award is considered an important bellwether for Oscar success as its members make up an important constituency of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which votes on the Oscars.

In its first 19 years, 12 of the PGA's top film picks went on to win the Academy Award for best picture, including last year's champion "No Country for Old Men" although the producers missed the mark for three straight years starting in 2005.

source

Rahman bags triple nomination at the Oscars

A R Rahman did India proud once again as he bagged a triple nomination at the 81 st Oscar Academy Awards for Slumdog Millionaire, the rags
to riches saga of an Indian boy from a Mumbai slum. Rahman was nominated in the Best Original Score category and twice in the Best Original Song section.

While Rahman shares the Original Song nomination “Jai Ho” with Gulzar, for “O Saya” he shares the nomination with Maya Arulpragasam.

Slumdog Millionaire, bagged 10 nominations in all including Best Motion Picture category, Best Director — Danny Boyle and Best Adapted Screenplay — Simon Beaufoy. Other nominations include Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Film

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Rahman makes India proud by earning Oscar nominations

BEVERLY HILLS: After becoming the first Indian to win the Golden Globe, music maestro Allah Rakha Rahman added yet another feather in his cap
blazing a new trail getting a triple Oscar nomination in two categories, an unprecedented feat for any Indian.

The 43-year-old music wizard, nicknamed 'Mozart of Madras', who has enthralled audience in the country and abroad with his heartwarming symphonies finally got his due recognition on the international stage with his composition in the movie 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

Rahman, born in Chennai on January 6, 1966, was nominated in the Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories for two of his compositions -- 'Jai Ho' and 'O Saya'.

Born as a Hindu, he changed his name to Allah Rakha Rahman from S Dileep Kumar after his family converted to Islam in 1970s.

The music genius first came to limelight with his music for a Bombay Dyeing ad in 1980s which became very popular.

In 1992, he was approached by film director Mani Ratnam to compose the score and soundtrack for his Tamil film 'Roja'.

The music of the film was a refreshing change from the run-of-the-mill renditions and gave Rahman his maiden Best Music Director trophy at the National Film Awards, the first time ever by a debutante film composer.

Rahman entered the Hindi film industry with 'Rangeela', directed by Ram Gopal Varma. The music of the film became a rage and the genius continued to give some brilliant compositions for films such as 'Bombay', 'Dil Se', 'Taal', 'Lagaan' and 'Rang De Basanti', among others.

What made Rahman's music click with the listeners was the refreshing use of percussions, sound and melody, most of which were inspired from the Indian folk music.

His 1998 superhit composition 'Chaiyya Chaiyya', which was deeply rooted in Sufi mysticism, became a rage among Indians and is still considered one of the best compositions of the musician.

Rahman gradually became a known face on the international platform and in 1999 he performed with king of pop, Michael Jackson in Munich for 'Michael Jackson and Friends Concert'.

In 2002, he gave the music for his maiden stage production 'Bombay Dreams' directed by legendary musical theater composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber. Rahman's music was also a hit from London's 'West End' to New York's 'Broadway'.

In 2004, with Finnish folk music band 'Varttina', he composed the music for 'The Lord of the Rings' theater production.

Rahman's composition 'Jai Ho' for British director Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire', earned him the Critics Choice Award for Best Composer in 2008 and the Golden Globe in the category of Best Original Score.

A four-time National Award winner, Rahman was honoured with the Padma Shri and received six awards at the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, besides 11 awards for his scores at the Filmfare and Filmfare Awards South each.

In 2006, he received an honourary award from Stanford University for his contributions to global music. In 1995, he also received the Mauritius National Award and a Malaysian Award.

The music director, who is known for his humble demeanor, gave a new definition to patriotism with his modern rendition of 'Vande Mataram'. His latest tract 'Jiya Se Jiya' is another attempt to send the message of peace and love through music.

In 2008, he scored soundtracks for 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na,' 'Yuvvraaj,' 'Ghajini,' and 'Slumdog Millionaire' and will continue to rule million hearts with his music for the upcoming films such as 'Dilli 6' and 'Blue'

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'Slumdog' leads field for British Academy awards

LONDON: Underdog-turned-favorite "Slumdog Millionaire" picked up 11 nominations Thursday for the British Academy film awards, Britain's version of the Oscars.

The British-Indian film about a Mumbai street boy's rise to game-show glory was nominated in six major categories including best picture, best actor for Dev Patel and best director for Danny Boyle. It also received several design nominations.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," which stars Brad Pitt as a man who ages backward, also was nominated in 11 categories, including best film, best actor and best director for David Fincher.

Double Golden Globe winner Kate Winslet is competing against herself in the best-actress category, with nominations for both "The Reader" and "Revolutionary Road." She is up against Angelina Jolie for "The Changeling," Meryl Streep for "Doubt" and Kristin Scott Thomas for the French film "I've Loved You So Long."

The best-actor nominees are Pitt, Patel of "Slumdog", Sean Penn for "Milk," Frank Langella for "Frost/Nixon" and Mickey Rourke for "The Wrestler."

The winners will be announced at London's Royal Opera House on Feb 8. The British awards, known as BAFTAs, are considered an important indicator of success at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles two weeks later.

Batman thriller "The Dark Knight" received nine nods, including a best supporting actor nomination for the late Heath Ledger.

Clint Eastwood's LA noir "Changeling" is nominated in eight categories, including best director, while political drama "Frost/Nixon" has six nominations including best actor for Frank Langella and best director for Ron Howard.

In addition to "Slumdog" and "Benjamin Button," the best-picture contenders are "Frost/Nixon," inspirational biopic "Milk" and Nazi-themed drama "The Reader."

In the separate category of best British film, the nominees are "Slumdog," ABBA musical "Mamma Mia!" hit-man comedy "In Bruges," Irish hunger-striker drama "Hunger" and tightrope-walking documentary "Man on Wire."

The nominations cement the transformation of "Slumdog" from low-budget outsider to Oscars favorite. Filmed on the streets of Mumbai with a largely Indian cast and partly in Hindi, the film features a tough-but-sweet script from BAFTA-nominated Simon Beaufoy ("The Full Monty") and kinetic direction by Boyle ("Trainspotting," "28 Days Later").

The BAFTAS are also a chance for several highly touted films shut out of the Golden Globe awards - including "Benjamin Button," "Frost/Nixon" and "Doubt" - to regain awards-season momentum.

Mumbai slum residents object to 'Slumdog's' name

MUMBAI: Several dozen Mumbai slum residents protested the award-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire" on Thursday, calling the film's title insulting.


The protest came amid mounting excitement in India, where the movie is set and home to bollywood, ahead of Academy Award nominations later Thursday.

The film, a rags-to-riches romance set in Mumbai's notorious slums, has been tapped a favorite for several Oscar nominations after it swept its four categories at the Golden Globes, including the prize for best drama.

But not all of Mumbai's slum residents were happy. "I am poor, but don't call me slumdog," said Rekha Dhamji, 18, one of about two dozen slum residents who protested outside the home of one of the movie's actors, Anil Kapoor.

"I don't want to be referred to as a dog," she said. Other protesters held up banners reading "Poverty For Sale," and "I am not a dog." One of them carried a puppy.

Nicholas Almeida, a social activist who organized the protest, said he planned to file a lawsuit on Friday to get the name changed.

The film, which tells the story of Jamal Malik, a poor youth who becomes the champion of India's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" television program as he searches for his lost love, has also been criticized for focusing on India's poverty.

On Wednesday the cast and director spoke to the media in New Delhi about the film, and the controversy it has sparked.

"The film is going to be a terrific inspiration to kids around India. It's a feel-good film, a film of hope," said Kapoor, who grew up in a Mumbai slum.

He dismissed claims that the word "slumdog" was offensive. "Children from the slums are actually called much worse names."

Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy said people should not read too much into the word. "I just made up the word. I liked the idea. I didn't mean to offend anyone," he said.

Despite the protests, the film was also generating a lot of excitement in India ahead of the nominations and its official release in the country set for Friday.

The Times Now news channel broadcast a special program called "Oscars Here We Come" as part of wall-to-wall coverage of the Academy Awards buildup.

"We're all so happy, we're beaming just to see our people walk down the red carpet and get the recognition we should get," actress Amrita Arora said.


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Rahman, Anil Kapoor sued for calling Indians names

PATNA: Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor and music director A R Rahman have been sued in a Patna court for allegedly calling slum dwellers names in their Cast of Slumdog Millionaire during a press conference in New Delhi.

One Tapeshwar Vishwakarma, general secretary of Slum Dwellers' Joint Action Committee, on Tuesday filed a complaint case in the court of chief judicial magistrate Raghavendra Kumar Singh, charging the duo with defaming slum dwellers by calling them "slumdogs" and Indians "dogs" in the movie. They, thus, violated the slum dwellers' rights to live a dignified life, the complaint said.

Though the court has fixed February 5 as the next date of hearing, it has not taken cognizance in the case and, instead, asked the complainant to produce evidence in support of his allegations.

Vishwakarma on Wednesday told TOI he has also approached the National Human Rights' Commission for action against the two film personalities. He admitted he has not watched the movie. "But I have seen the movie's promos on TV," he said, adding he has named only Kapoor and Rahman because they are "better- known Indians associated with the movie".

source

RQ, can you please help me find the bhajan 'Darshan do Ganesham.' It was sung by the young Jamal in this movie and was really touching. I believe Asha Bhosle sang the original. I would like to dedicate it to someone who just passed away. Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by Rupert:
RQ, can you please help me find the bhajan 'Darshan do Ganesham.' It was sung by the young Jamal in this movie and was really touching. I believe Asha Bhosle sang the original. I would like to dedicate it to someone who just passed away. Thanks.

hi Rupert... will check it out for you..check back later...or sooner...

darshan do ghanshyam

Hi Rupert...let me know if this is the one you are looking for...Hemant Kumar sings...

quote:

Originally posted by RQ:
Hi Rupert...let me know if this is the one you are looking for...Hemant Kumar sings...

Yes, it is. Thanks again.

quote:

Originally posted by Rupert:

quote:

Originally posted by RQ:
Hi Rupert...let me know if this is the one you are looking for...Hemant Kumar sings...

Yes, it is. Thanks again.

you are welcome Rupert...how you doing...were you able to dedicate it...

Slumdog... is trashy: Priyadarshan

Indian movie director Priyadarshan has joined the bandwagon in slamming Danny Boyle's underdog saga Slumdog Millionaire and has called the film a "cheap trashy mediocre version" of erstwhile Bollywood hits.

"Slumdog Millionaire is nothing but a cheap trashy mediocre version of those commercial films about estranged brothers and childhood sweethearts that Salim-Javed used to write so brilliantly in the 1970s. And please quote me clearly on this. If the Golden Globe and Oscars committees have chosen to honour this trashy film it just shows their ignorance of world cinema," Priyadarshan said.

Priyadarshan, whose much-acclaimed film on the silk weavers of Kanjeevaram was shown alongside Boyle's film at the Toronto Film Festival last year, feels Indians are exercising prideful property rights over a film that denigrates Mumbai.

"I saw the film with a mixed audience at the Toronto Film Festival. The Westerners loved it. All the Indian hated it. The West loves to see us as a wasteland, filled with horror stories of exploitation and degradation. But is that all there's to our beautiful city of Mumbai?"

He is surprised that Mumbai is celebrating a film that shows only the city's underbelly.

"Why are we taking this treatment? Just because a white man has made 'Slumdog Millionaire', we're so happy with it? I've read Vikas Swarup's novel 'Q&A'. It should have been made by Mani Ratnam. Then you'd have seen what he would have done with Mumbai."

The angry director wonders why there isn't a single shot in 'Slumdog...' that shows the more aesthetic side of Mumbai?

"Why has Danny Boyle not taken one shot of Marine Drive? Do his slumdwellers exist only within their slums? And look at the absurdities...A boy becomes a national hero on a game show. One cop takes him under arrest and interrogates him relentlessly. Where is everyone else? Is this kind of confinement possible in this day and age when television cameras enter your bedroom? If one of our filmmakers had made the same film we would have blasted him out of business."

"Let them give as many Oscars as they like. We don't need to be impressed," ends Priydarshan angrily.

hhhmmm...perhaps he is over-zealot...jealous...

source

What's wrong with slumdog? says Shah Rukh

Slamming the critics of Oscar-nominated Slumdog Millionaire, Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has said that the poverty highlighted in the movie is a reality and wondered why people in India tend to become cynical when something good is happening.

"Isn't that (poverty and slums) a reality ? If you (critics) have a problem with the word slumdog, why don't you look positively and see that there is a word millionaire or 'crorepati' also," Khan, who returned from Los Angeles yesterday after a month-long schedule of Karan Johar's My name is Khan told the media. Shah Rukh has been paired with Kajol once again in the film after the two worked together as one of the leading pairs in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham years ago.

Critics felt that the movie sells India's poverty to West and some others had raised objections to the word 'slumdog' on grounds that people living in Indian slums were being referred to as 'dogs'.

"I have just returned from the US and people there have become crazy about the film and its music. The film's sound is also good apart from a good story and screenplay. The film deserves all awards," Khan, who has read the original book as well as the script, said.

The actor said that he does not regret declining Anil Kapoor's role in the film. "I cant regret something which I could not have done. I don't think I would have done justice to the role of a game show host like Anil Kapoor," he said at the launch of his company's foray into television content last night with Ghar Ki Baat Hai on NDTV Imagine.

SRK said that during the period which Danny Boyle shot the film, he was already hosting Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) and later Kya Aap Panchvi Pass Se Tez Hai.

Must watch:
Special: All about Slumdog Millionaire
Pics: Ranbir, Deepika at Slumdog's premiere

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Slumdog child actors dream big

Apart from the stars, it's the adorable child artistes of Slumdog Millionaire who have caught everyone's attention. But life for little Latika and Salim played by Rubina Quereshi and Azhar respectively is almost the same as on it.

Rubina (Latika) and Azhar (Salim) live along railway tracks in Bandra, but this hasn't stopped both from dreaming big. "I don't like living here. I want to live in a nice building or bungalow," said Azhar, who plays younger Salim in the film.

"The way Jamal promises me (in the film) that we will live in a bungalow on Harbour Road. I want a life like that," says Rubina, who lives right in a 60 sq ft tenement illegally constructed along the railway tracks.

"These slums are demolished every two months. Now, we are okay but soon we might be homeless," said Rafi Ali Quereshi, Rubina's father.

Azhar's family has been living in these shanties for the past 10 years but every couple of months, the BMC demolishes it. Just like his character in the film, Azhar too hopes to provide a place for the family that they can call home.

"If we move from here, our son will also develop good skills and the environment will make a lot of difference to his upbringing," said Azhar's mother.

According to a newspaper report, parents of Rubina and Azhar have alleged that their kids were a minimal amount for the film, that has become top grosser world over. The report says Rubina (Latika) was paid 500 pounds for a year's work, while Azharuddin received 1,700 pounds.

Rubina's mother said she was very happy that the film is doing very well but complained that the money paid to the kids was almost nothing. "The others are affluent and are doing very well. We are poor we don't have a house, so, no one is coming to our house for Rubina," said Munni Quereshi, Rubina's mother.

The parents hope that this film could very well be their ticket to fame and a life away from the slums. (With inputs from IANS)

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Slumdog under fire for hurting religious sentiments

A right wing Hindu organisation has filed police complaints against the producer, writer and directors of Slumdog Millionaire, alleging the Oscar-nominated film shows Indian culture in bad light and has hurt religious sentiments of a particular community.

The complaints have accused Christian Colson (producer) Simon Beaufoy and Vikas Swarup (the writers) and directors Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandon of "hurting religious sentiments".

"The movie has shown Lord Rama and the Indian Culture in poor light thus hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus," Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) spokesman Jayesh Thali said.

HJS filed three different police complaints in the cities of Panaji, Mapusa and Margao. HJS sympathiser Nanda Nagvekar from Margao has lodged a complaint at the local police station while two other complaints were filed by the religious outfit.

"These complaints have demanded that the police take immediate action against the offenders as per the provisions of law and ban the screening of the film in the jurisdiction of the respective police stations," Thali said.

Earlier on January 26, the HJS had demonstrated against the movie at INOX theatre.

A week before their demonstration, Shiv Sena had attacked the multiplex demanding immediate withdrawl of the movie and 12 Shiv Sainiks were arrested in this connection.

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It's Slumdog vs Slumdog in India

It's every filmmaker's dream to have his film run to packed houses but is Danny Boyle's film Slumdog Millionaire competing with itself in India? The original version in English and the one dubbed in Hindi, titled Slumdog Crorepati were simultaneously released in India. It seems like an interesting proposition to compare the performances of the two versions at the box office.

Cinema hall owners across the cities say there is an equal division between the two, while Slumdog Crorepati, the Hindi dubbed version, that enjoys Universal certification is a hit in the interiors, Slumdog Millionaire is a hit in the metros.

The English version has taken director Danny Boyle and the cast on a magical journey from the slums of Mumbai. The film has won all major awards this years and bagged 10 Oscar nominations including Best Song for A R Rahman.

"The English version Slumdog Millionaire is doing well in the metros and the Hindi version is doing well in smaller towns," said Joydeep Ghosh, GM Marketing, PVR Cinemas.

"In south Delhi we have only released the English version and we are getting 75-80 per cent occupancy. But in other regions like east and north Delhi we have released the Hindi version and it is also doing very well," said Naveen Gupta, Manager, Satyam Cinemas.

While on the Millionaire versus Crorepati debate, trade analysts say the dubbed version is clearly doing better in smaller Indian towns but for obvious reasons. The same reason why certain pockets even in the major metros, Slumdog Crorepati is the toast of the neighbourhood.

Slumdog Millionaire is already raking it in the overseas market, especially since its Golden run at the international award ceremonies.

Box Office stats indicate that advance bookings were up 150 per cent after the 11 BAFTA nominations in the United Kingdom while the film has already grossed in $58 million in the United States and is still going strong.

Slumdog Millioanire or Slumdog Crorepati whatever the language, the audiences are only saying that it is fabulous.

Must watch:
Special: All about Slumdog Millionaire
Mansi Mehta/Beverly White

Friday, January 30, 2009 (New Delhi/Mumbai)

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Slumdog Director to work for Mumbai slum kids

Press Trust of India
Saturday, January 31, 2009 (London)

Danny Boyle, the acclaimed director of hit movie Slumdog Millionaire, which bagged four Golden Globes earlier this month, has planned to set up a fund for the slum children of Mumbai to help them come out of their poverty.

According to Boyle, investors would meet in London next week to discuss how much to put into fund for children and how to distribute and make efficient use of the cash.

"We want to set it up as soon as possible. What absolutely mustn't happen is that the money disappears or people think this is a PR stunt," Boyle said.

Boyle and Christian Colson, one of the producers, revealed the plan after criticism of the film's alleged financial exploitation of its child stars and its portrayal of Indian slum life. The film follows the rags-to-riches story of a slum-dweller.

Boyle insisted that the fund was not being set up in response to the criticism, according to a report in The Times. "This is our chance to give something back to an extraordinary city which has helped us produce an extraordinary film. We came up with it once we realised what a success the film was becoming after the Globes," he said.

Boyle and Colson denied claims in the media that the children, who still live in shacks by railway tracks, had been exploited. Colson said Rubina Sheikh, who played the young Latika, and Azharuddin Ismail, who played Salim, were paid "three times the amount of an annual adult salary" for what amounted to a month's work.

A substantial lump sum would be paid to the children once they attain age of 18 and completes their studies. "It's a carrot to encourage them to stay at school," Colson said.

Special: All about Slumdog Millionaire

Read: Slumdog Millionaire faces protest


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'Slumdog Millionaire' helmer Danny Boyle wins DGA Award

"Slumdog Millionaire" continued its triumphant dash around the awards derby track by snagging the top award tonight from the Directors Guild of America for Danny Boyle.

The latest triumph of "Slumdog Millionaire" follows its recent good fortune at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where it won best cast ensemble (which some Oscarologists believe is a harbinger of the Oscars' eventual best-picture champ) and best pic from the Producers Guild of America. Over the last 50 years, the movie that has won the DGA award has gone on to win the top Academy Award 40 times. Curiously, the DGA Award agrees more often with the best picture category at the Oscars than the academy's own slot for best director, which usually lines up with best picture.

Despite a distinguished career in both feature films and TV, Danny Boyle had never previously been nominated for a DGA award in either medium.

"Slumdog Millionaire" competed tonight against these four rivals: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (David Fincher), "The Dark Knight" (Christopher Nolan), "Frost/Nixon" (Ron Howard) and "Milk" (Gus Van Sant).

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Slumdog sweeps UK's BAFTA film awards

LONDON–Low-budget Indian drama Slumdog Millionaire swept Britain's BAFTA film awards on Sunday winning best film, director and five other categories, giving it another boost ahead of the Oscars later this month.

Slumdog Millionaire, a British picture about a young man from the slums of Mumbai who seeks to rise from rags to riches by winning a Hindi TV game show, triumphed at the Golden Globes last month with four honours including best drama.

Slumdog director Danny Boyle gave a restrained acceptance speech, but earlier defended his film on the red carpet against criticism in India to the movie's name, which some slum dwellers find offensive, its depiction of the lives of impoverished Indians and the treatment of the cast.

He told Reuters the children in the film had been paid well and that the makers of the movie went to great lengths to make sure they would be well cared for after the film was forgotten.

"We also put in place an educational plan for the children which we are sticking to and we will be there for them long after the fuss has died down," Boyle said ahead of the awards.

Kate Winslet, a double Golden Globe winner, won the leading actress award for her role as a former concentration camp guard in The Reader.

"I want to thank my mum and dad, who I won't look at otherwise I will burst into tears," she said at London's Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

Mickey Rourke gave an expletive-filled acceptance speech while picking up his award for leading actor for his portrayal of a lonely, washed-up professional athlete in The Wrestler trying to make his sporting comeback in a role that parallels the actor's own troubled life.

"Thank you to BAFTA, to Optimum Pictures to Fox Searchlight, Darren Aronofsky, he gave me a second chance after f***ing up my career for 15 years," Rourke said. "It's such a pleasure to be back here out of the darkness."

The red carpet was teeming with stars on a rainy London evening. Delighted fans bayed for autographs while the paparrazi jostled for snaps of Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Winslet, Rourke, Robert Downey Jr, Sharon Stone, Goldie Hawn and a host of other Hollywood and British film stars.

The awards ceremony was hosted by controversial presenter Jonathan Ross, who was recently suspended without pay from the BBC for his participation in obscene prank calls made to actor Andrew Sachs.

Ross did not disappoint fans of his off-the-cuff humour, making fun of his own speech impediment and regaling the audience with a raft of jokes pegged to the films up for awards.

"I loved The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, vividly depicting every woman's worst nightmare: as you age, your boyfriend, Brad Pitt, gets better looking," Ross said.

Pitt lost two nominations – leading actor for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and supporting actor for his role in the Coen brothers' comedy Burn After Reading.

The film had tied with Slumdog for 11 nominations, but won only three BAFTAs, for production design, make-up and hair as well as special visual effects.

Supporting actress went to Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, while the supporting actor award went to the late Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight, in which he played Batman's nemesis Joker.

The Australian actor, who died last year aged 28 of an accidental prescription drugs overdose, won the same category at the Golden Globes and is tipped to win an Academy Award.

In a good night for British film, the movie In Bruges, directed by Martin Mcdonagh won the BAFTA for original screenplay and The Duchess, starring Keira Knightley won for costume design.


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3 More for ‘Slumdog’

Published: February 16, 2009

With less than a week to go before the Academy Awards “Slumdog Millionaire” has racked up three more major film awards. Over the weekend it took the top prizes from the American Society of Cinematographers (for Anthony Dod Mantle, its director of photography) and the American Cinema Editors (for Chris Dickens, its editor), as well as the prize for production design of a contemporary film from the Arts Directors Guild, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” won the Art Directors Guild’s award for period film, and “The Dark Knight” for fantasy picture.) At the Oscars on Sunday “Slumdog Millionaire” is up for 10 awards and “Benjamin Button” 13.

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SLUMDOG Wins Top Awards From Producers & Screen Actors Guilds

Christian Colson, producer of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, won the Producers Guild's top award, "The Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award." And the entire cast of SLUMDOG received the "Best Ensemble" award from the Screen Actors Guild. Check out a photo below from the PGA awards ceremony as stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto stand at the podium; see Dev and freida on the cover of People below, right. (Also be sure to check out a video from a couple of weeks ago of Dev and Freida dancing Bollywood-style with Ellen Degeneres and her show's entire crew!)


This past weekend Fox Searchlight added 829 theatres for SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, increasing our theatre count to 1,411. SLUMDOG moved into the #5 position in the Top 10 for the box office!

The film will become the highest grossing movie of all time in the The Angelika Theatre in New York City by next weekend and has already become the highest grossest of any film in The Landmark Theatre in Los Angeles.

In the suburban multiplex theatres in major cities it moved in rank from the #5-7 range up to #1 or #2. Some of the new openings in smaller towns such as Wilmington, NC; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Butte, MT; Columbia, SC; Williamsburg, VA; and Hamilton, Ontario opened as #1 in theatres with a full 14-18 screens.

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is also succeeding overseas, as illustrated in this article by The Hollywood Reporter. It was the top movie at the box office in the U.K. for a third consecutive weekend.

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'Slumdog Millionaire' leads the best picture pack

Hate it or love it, the underdog is on top.

Not long ago, the movie to beat at this year's Oscars seemed to be "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," a big-budget, sentimental saga with marquee names like Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Its closest competition came from somber historical dramas like "Milk," "Frost/Nixon" and "The Reader." And many observers wondered whether "The Dark Knight," a blockbuster anchored by Heath Ledger's final, bravura performance as The Joker, might nab some major awards.

But that was before "Slumdog Millionaire," a relatively low-budget film with no American stars, a script partly in Hindi and scenes of intense violence against children, became an unlikely feel-good hit, pleasing audiences and most (but not all) critics. Last month, "Slumdog" nabbed four major Golden Globe Awards - best picture, director, screenplay and score - and more recently won the Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding ensemble cast. When Oscar nominations were announced Jan. 22, "Benjamin Button" took the lion's share, with 13 nods, but "Slumdog" followed right behind with 10. The race had been turned upside-down.

It's a success story about a success story. In the film, based on the Indian novel "Q&A," an uneducated orphan named Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) becomes an unstoppable contestant on India's version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." Each question summons a flashback to Jamal's hardscrabble life, and each answer brings him closer to finding his true love, Latika (Freida Pinto). Through luck, pluck and perseverance, Jamal rises above his station like a South Asian Horatio Alger; some writers have even likened him to Barack Obama. Though the film isn't set in the United States (and the film's director, Danny Boyle, is British), "Slumdog" strikes an American chord.

BY RAFER GUZMÁN | rafer.guzman@newsday.com
February 15, 2009

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Voting with their feet

That, and its essentially happy ending, may be two reasons why this modest movie, budgeted at $15 million, has earned $68.5 million since its Nov. 12 release, according to BoxOfficeMo jo.com. "Slumdog" came out just before Hollywood unleashed a flood of gloomy films about Nazi Germany, a theme that communicates seriousness of purpose to Oscar voters but doesn't exactly promise light entertainment to moviegoers. As a result, those moviegoers voted with their feet. "Defiance," starring Daniel Craig as a Jewish resistance fighter, has taken in $23.2 million, about a third of what "Slumdog" has earned. "The Reader," starring Kate Winslet as a former concentration camp guard, has pulled in $13.1 million (although Winslet seems likely to get a best actress Oscar out of it).

Hollywood generally seems to think moviegoers don't do "edgy," but "Slumdog" - which includes beatings, blindings and electroshock torture - is only the latest movie to prove otherwise. In recent years, audiences embraced the off-color comedy "Little Miss Sunshine," featuring Alan Arkin as a sex-crazed, heroin-snorting grandfather, and "Juno," a romantic comedy about a pregnant 15-year-old. Both films won Oscars for their screenplays, and Arkin won best supporting actor. At some point, Hollywood (and journalists who write about it) may have to stop acting surprised when movies like "Slumdog" go mainstream.

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'Slumdog' backlash

As with anything popular, the film has provoked a backlash. Last month, critics began questioning its flashy, rock-video approach to the subject of impoverished children. A writer at The Times of London called it "poverty porn." Indian critics and academics raised similar concerns in a front-page Los Angeles Times story headlined "Indians Don't Feel Good About 'Slumdog Millionaire.'" According to Time magazine, dozens of Mumbai slum dwellers protested the film with a banner reading "I Am Not a Dog."

But Los Angeles Times columnist Patrick Goldstein defended the movie against negative publicity, wondering: "Is it the work of a whispering campaign by nefarious Oscar rivals?" If so, Karl Rove himself couldn't have done better: Days after "Slumdog" racked up its 10 nominations, London's Daily Telegraph reported that two of the film's child actors - found in the real slums of Mumbai - had been poorly paid and were still living in poverty. (The studio, Fox Searchlight Pictures, said in a statement that the children had received "three times the average local annual adult salary" and an educational fund.)

Controversy aside, the statistical edge at the Oscars still goes to "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." It's also a prime example of Oscar chum - a $150-million epic with a name-brand cast, state-of-the-art effects and a tearjerker script co-written by Eric Roth (of "Forrest Gump," itself a winner of six statues). Still, there's an unquantifiable feeling in the air that when the awards are handed out Feb. 22, "Slumdog" will have its day.

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Slumdog Millionaire named best contemporary film at Art Directors Guild Awards

17 Feb 2009, 0850 hrs IST, AGENCIES

WASHINGTON: Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire' has been named the Best Contemporary Film at the Art Directors Guild Awards. Slumdog Millionaire


The film, which tracks the story of an 18-year-old slum boy from rags to riches, has already triumphed the Golden Globes and Baftas, and has been nominated in 10 categories at the Oscars.

Other big winners at the awards night were The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and The Dark Knight, reports Contactmusic.

Brad Pitt starrer Curious Case Of Benjamin Button walked away with the gong for Excellence in Production Design for a Period Film, while Heath Ledger's Dark Knight picked up the Fantasy Film prize.

Production Designer Paul Sylbert was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement, and iconic filmmaker George Lucas was honoured for Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery.


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Dev..Freida dance

jai ho

Today's show

TTT_PPPPP...didi...jfu...check this clip..arite...

Dev n Freida

Dev Patel N Freida Pinto on Ellen DeGeneres...did the Jai ho dance wid her...

Dev Patel

TP...jfu....Interview with David Letterman...

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and MILK Win WGA Honors


"Slumdog Millionaire" remains the front-runner when it comes to this year's Academy Awards. New York Times political columnist Frank Rich made a point of the film's success in his column today when he said that Americans identify with the film, "which pits a hard-working young man in Mumbai against a corrupt nexus of money and privilege." We do hate money and privilege…when we don't have it.

I'm continually amazed at how far this film has come and of the five nominees for Best Picture, I think it is the best. Still, in the back of my mind, I have nightmare flashbacks to 2005 when "Brokeback Mountain" seemed the assured choice for Best Picture and instead the award went to "Racism for Dummies" also known as "Crash".

While Best Adapted Screenplay went to Simon Beaufoy for "Slumdog", Best Original Screenplay went to Dustin Lance Black for "Milk". Other awards included the continued television monopoly of "30 Rock" and "Mad Men" for Best Comedy and Best Drama, respectively. However, while "30 Rock" also won for Best Episodic Comedy ("Succession" which featured the great line, "Diabetes Repair"), Best Episodic Drama went to the pilot for "Breaking Bad" proving once and for all that the only thing cooler than the 60s ad game is cooking meth.

Finally, the fantastic "Waltz with Bashir" picked up the award for Best Documentary Screenplay. Yes, documentaries have screenplays. Here's a fun irony: the film is not even nominated for Best Documentary at the Oscars even though it also won the DGA award in the category. Oh, Academy. Your nominating rules are idiotic.

Written by Matt Goldberg

'Here [in Mumbai] I can travel by rickshaws and lead my usual life'

But Danny's patient tutoring, and her great off-screen rapport with co-stars Dev and Madhur Mittal (who plays Dev's older brother), helped calm her down.
"Madhur was like a protective older brother and Dev is completely goofy." The trio plays childhood friends in the film, and to get the chemistry right, they started hanging out together even before shooting began. "Madhur and I would be Dev's tour guide," says Freida, who took London-based Dev to the Gateway of India, Colaba Causeway and shopping malls in the city. The time spent together helped ease any awkwardness Freida felt when doing an intimate scene with Dev. "We were nervous about delivering it in front of Danny but not about doing the scene with each other," she says.

Though she doesn't share any screen time with Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan, she learnt a lot watching these actors. "I was envious of Dev," recalls Freida. "I remember standing outside Irrfan's trailer for over an hour, waiting to get a glimpse of him. We spoke and he gave me some tips. 'Be the way you are and don't try too hard,' he said."

Keeping it real is what she's focused on, especially with all the hype surrounding the movie.

Despite Slumdog's global recognition, life goes on as usual for Freida back home in Malad. "Here [in Mumbai] I can travel by rickshaws and lead my usual life. And out there, I can be my so-called star self," says Freida, who credits her family for keeping her grounded. She does, however, have her moments. "I am very excited to be appearing on the Ellen DeGeneres show. I just love her."

After a debut like Slumdog, Freida's being careful about her next move. "Latika has raised the bar," says the actress who is reading scripts from Indian filmmakers while promoting Slumdog. She's aiming for performance-oriented roles like Charlize Theron in Monster and has hired an international agent. "I want to be versatile. The industry out there is opening up for Asians." Freida is open to doing Hindi film too.

For now, though, she is busy selecting outfits. "There are six ceremonies to attend," says Freida, who is "not even thinking of the Oscars". But there's no doubt she's keeping her fingers crossed. "If it were in my hands I would give all the awards to Slumdog. It is my baby and I want to nurture it.

Rahman's score gets rave reviews


The score, which might (did) get an Oscar nomination, has been singled out by major reviewers in America. 'Danny Boyle has upped the ante by hiring the great A R Rahman, the king of Bollywood music,' wrote Kenneth Turan in Los Angeles Times, 'to contribute one of his unmistakable propulsive scores.'
'The propulsive score, by Bollywood soundtrack auteur A R Rahman, is hip-hop fusion of a very up-to-date kind,' Kurt Loder announced on MTV.Com.

In Rolling Stone, Peter Travers wrote, 'The film is a visual wonder, propelled by A R Rahman's hip-hopping score and Chris Dickens' kinetic editing.'

The soundtrack also has two remix numbers by M I A from her Grammy nominated album Paper Planes, and features the London-based singer sharing a song with Rahman, O... Saya. Danny Boyle says she approached him in London to discuss the possibility of using her songs in the film. She told him she wanted to work with Rahman.

Rahman and M I A had not met before the Slumdog Millionaire project came up over a year ago, though she had done much of the recording and the mixing of her album Kala in his Chennai studio about 18 months ago.

"Her musical is unusual," he said. He had heard her music, and wondered who this girl was. When he met her, he was surprised to know that M I A knew his work very well, and admired it.

He also remembers telling her, 'Cut the crap, this 'my idol' crap. You have to teach me.'

In the photograph: Freida Pinto and Rahman

Golden Globes Award...Red Carpet....

Freida Pinto's red carpet style file

Her rise is nothing short of meteoric.
Not so long ago, the name Freida Pinto wouldn't ring a bell. Today, the Slumdog Millionaire beauty is talk-of-the-town and red carpet toast.

Unlike her unembellished Latika in Danny Boyle's highly-acclaimed romance drama, the lady from Mumbai has consistently impressed with her fashion choices. The film's winning streak, at practically each and every awards ceremony it has been nominated, leads one to believe the forthcoming Oscars won't be an exception.

Similarly, if her past performance is any indication, the fashionista in Freida is bound to floor us with her blend of glamour and grace at the 81st Academy Awards due to take place on February 22.

Meanwhile, here's a look at the Slumdog hottie in her red carpet best.

The dress:

A strapless, frilly, baby pink gown by Oscar de la Renta.


The occasion:

The BAFTA awards ceremony.

The verdict:

Deep tone or pastels, Freida slips into the skin of her designer clothes with awe-inspiring perfection. The actress looks every bit of a bubblegum diva in her pink 'n' pretty avatar.

[IMG]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/02/10/article-1140135-035D0B08000005DC-995_306x720.jpg
[/IMG]

Being the Elle Style Awards, it came as no surprise that every celebrity attendee was vying to turn heads as they hit the red carpet dressed up to the nines.

Slumdog Millionaire picked up yet another prize as stunning Freida Pinto was named Best Actress.
The triumph for the 24-year-old Indian model/actress, who plays the love interest in Danny Boyle's rags-to-riches tale, comes hot on the heels of the film's seven Baftas.

Slumdog Millionaire's Freida Pinto, who won Best Actress.

Actress Freida Pinto accepts the Best Young Actor award on behalf of actor Dev Patel for his performance in Slumdog Millionaire.

Floor-length glamour: Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto looked lovely in lilac, at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Slumdog Millionaire won the prize for best film ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Slumdog Millionaire won the prize for best film ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Slumdog adds two awards to collection

(L-R) Actors Irrfan Khan, Dev Patel, Freida Pinto and Anil Kapoor hold their awards after winning for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture "Slumdog Millionaire" at the 15th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, January 25, 2009.

Indian actress Freida Pinto and British actor Dev Patel accept the Darryl F Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures for the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" at the 20th annual Producers Guild Awards in Los Angeles
on Saturday. — Reuters

Being the Elle Style Awards, it came as no surprise that every celebrity attendee was vying to turn heads as they hit the red carpet dressed up to the nines.

Stylish: Holding her own at the Elle Style awards with Slumdog Millionaire’s Freida Pinto and Lorraine Candy, editor-in-chief of Elle.

Slumdog Millionaire picked up yet another prize as stunning Freida Pinto was named Best Actress.
The triumph for the 24-year-old Indian model/actress, who plays the love interest in Danny Boyle's rags-to-riches tale, comes hot on the heels of the film's seven Baftas.

Slumdog Millionaire's Freida Pinto, won Best Actress in Elle Style Awards.

Slumdog Millionaire picked up yet another prize as stunning Freida Pinto was named Best Actress.
The triumph for the 24-year-old Indian model/actress, who plays the love interest in Danny Boyle's rags-to-riches tale, comes hot on the heels of the film's seven Baftas.

Slumdog Millionaire's Freida Pinto, won Best Actress in Elle Style Awards.

Flashback...2 More Indian Films Nominated for the Oscars!



Slumdog Millionaire was deeply impressed the firangs, so much that it has garnered a maximum of 10 nominations.

A source reports, “Smile Pinki a 39 minute short film in Hindi and Bhojpuri, directed by Emmy-nominated producer Megan Mylan has also been nominated in the ‘Best Short Documentary’ category.
Set in Varanasi, Smile Pinki revolves around a six-year-old girl from Mirzapur named Pinki who cannot go to school because of her cleft lips.

A simple surgery can fix her cleft lips, but instead she has to face social ostracism, until she meets Pankaj, a social worker who ensures that Pinki gets a free surgery.

Another film in the running for the ‘Best Short Documentary’ Oscar is The Final Inch by Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant. Once again, set in India, this documentary deals with the protagonist Muhammed Gulzar’s battle with polio.

The Final Inch highlights efforts to eradicate polio in India, through his story.”

Quite strange… all these films, although are made on India… but they are made by non-Indians… Does the west need western directors to show them what India is? Why doesn’t an Indian director gets so much respect and honor from them? Does it mean the Oscars are biased? Or does it mean the western directors can see India better than our Indian directors?

What do you say?

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How many of this golden OSCAR guy will INDIA win??



My take...atleast...1/2 dozen...+++

A R Rahman wins BAFTA award



India's music maestro Allah Rakha Rahman has scooped the BAFTA award in the best music score category for "Slumdog Millionaire", a rags-to-riches story that won six other awards including the Best Film at the star-studded function here.

Bolstering its chances for the Oscars scheduled later this month, the film based on India's diplomat-turned author Vikas Swarup's novel went into the ceremony with 11 nominations and won prizes for best film, best director, original screenplay, music, cinematography, editing and sound.

The film, which received 10 Oscar nominations, is now poised to win laurels at the Oscars on February 22. Besides Rahman, India's Resul Pookutty received the prize for the best sound for the same film along with Glenn Freemantle, Richard Pryke, Tom Sayers and Ian Tapp.

Danny Boyle, who directed the film based in the slums of Mumbai was named best director.

However, the film's 18-year-old star Dev Patel lost to Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) in the best actor category. Patel is also nominated in the best actor category for the Oscars.

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Rahman hopes for Oscar after BAFTA win




Indian composer A.R. Rahman has said he hoped to become only the third Indian to bag an Oscar after picking up the coveted BAFTA award for his score in the film 'Slumdog Millionaire.'

"It is a great feeling... It is getting better and better and let's hope for the biggest one - the Oscars," Rahman told reporters Sunday night after bagging the award for the best music.

"I think it is important for people to know who the composer is. People started liking the music. It is a great feeling. So, I am giving it a try to satisfy them," the composer added.

"It's unbelievable," Rahman said moments earlier while accepting the BAFTA award, thanking, among others, "my beloved fans all over the world."

Only two Indians have won the Oscar in its 80 year history - Satyajit Ray was given the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992 and Bhanu Athaiya won the best costume design Oscar along with John Mollo for the 1982 film "Gandhi."


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In the picture: Rahman poses with Mohit Rajhans, the host of Canada's show program on Omni TV.

What else would you call an evening when you run into none other than AR Rahman, in Toronto?

Reader Brian Leno had a lucky night.

'As a westerner, I love Rahman's music and it was a thrill to meet him,' Brian writes.

We bet it was, Brian. Everyone's a Rahman fan.

A.R.Rahman with wife Saira Bano....

From his humble beginnings, Rahman swiftly became one of Bollywood’s biggest from Tamil Nadu, and now to Hollywood with Slumdog Millionaire.

A.R.Rahman is married to Saira Bano. The couple have three children, Khatija, Rahim, and Aman.

AR Rahman and his wife at IIFA

British director Danny Boyle (L), British writer Simon Beaufoy (2nd L), producer Christian Colson, and composer A.R. Rahman (R), who all worked on the movie 'Slumdog Millionare,' arrive for the the BAFTA/LA 15th annual Awards Season Tea Party in Beverly Hills, California, January 10, 2009. (Danny Moloshok/Reuters)

Shan Chandrasekar with A.R. Rahman, the Oscar nominated music composer and composer for Andrew Loyd Webber's "Bombay Dreams", at ATN's Studios.

A.R. Rahman wins BAFTA Award

A.R. Rahman wins BAFTA Award It's raining awards on A.R. Rahman! Right from the beginning of this year, the Mozart of Madras has been receiving one award after another. First, it was the Annual Critics' Choice Award; then, it was the Golden Globe; then the Oscar nominations and now, it is the BAFTA. The maestro bagged the 'Best Music Score Award' for Slumdog Millionaire at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards yesterday. The movie swept the BAFTA Awards, bagging 7 awards out of 11 nominations. Check out 7 BAFTAs for Slumdog Millionaire. After becoming the first Indian to win the Golden Globe, Rahman has become the first Indian to win a BAFTA award. With just two weeks to go before the 81st Academy Awards, this BAFTA has boosted India's Oscar hopes through Rahman. Check out: A.R. Rahman wins 3 Oscar nominations A.R. Rahman wins Golden Globe for Slumdog Millionaire Slumdog Millionaire at Annual Critics Choice Awards What do you think are Rahman's chances at the Oscars? How do you think that Slumdog Millionaire will fare? Post your views on A.R. Rahman and Slumdog Millionaire at the Oscars.

From: tamil.galatta.com

Anil Kapoor: Bollywood's Mr India




Actor and Producer Anil Kapoor has long been a Bollywood luminary, but after his award-winning performance in global hit "Slumdog Millionaire," he is set to become an international star.


Kapoor says that "Slumdog," a love story about a boy from a Mumbai slum who wins a fortune on quiz show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?," resembles his own life story. "I also started from scratch, went from rags to riches," he told CNN.

Anil is part of the Kapoor family that is a veritable Bollywood dynasty. His father Surinder and elder brother Boney are film producers, his daughter Sonam, sister-in-law Sridevi and his younger brother Sanjay are actors, while son-in-law Sandeep Marwah is a movie magnate and Anil's son Harshvardhan is currently learning to direct movies in Los Angeles.

But things weren't always so glamorous. Anil Kapoor was born on Christmas Eve 1959 and grew up in a tenement in the Mumbai suburb of Chembur, with eight people living together in a single room. His father Surinder had yet to make his name in the film industry, but young Anil clearly had movies in his blood. "In my childhood I was surrounded by films, actors, film makers, directors and film talk. I would bunk school to watch movies," he said.

He was cast in his first movie aged just seven. Although the film was never released, the experience was enough to convince Kapoor that his future lay in the movies.

After finishing school he went to St Xavier's College, where he acted in plays and won the Best Actor trophy at an inter-collegiate competition, before being expelled for non-attendance. Kapoor responded by enrolling in acting classes and taking singing and dance lessons.

He made his Bollywood debut in 1979's "Hamare Tumhare," before moving on to Telugu-language movie "Vamsa Vriksham" in 1980, and landing his first Bollywood starring role in 1983's "Woh 7 Din."

Watch Anil Kapoor take CNN on a tour of Mumbai. »

Kapoor first met future wife Sunita Bhambhani in 1979, when she was a successful model and he was still a struggling actor. He decided that he would propose marriage as soon as he got his big break and 1984's "Mashaal" was the opportunity he'd been waiting for. Kapoor's performance won him Best Supporting Actor at India's prestigious FilmFare awards and he married Sunita in May of that year.

Kapoor cemented his status a Bollywood idol after starring in the hugely successful "Mr India," which promptly became his nickname among a growing legion of fans. He has gone on to become one of the biggest names in Indian cinema, picking up a total of five FilmFare awards and a National Film Institute Best Actor award for his role in 2000's "Pukar."

Following in his father's footsteps, Kapoor made his debut as a producer in 2002, with the comedy "Badhaai Ho Badhaai," and he went on to produce "Gandhi, My Father," which portrayed the fractious relationship between Mohandas Gandhi and his eldest son Harilal.

For years now, in his home town of Mumbai Kapoor has been mobbed by fans wherever he goes, instantly recognizable by his trademark mustache, which he has proudly sported in all but three of his hundred-plus movies.

But like most Bollywood stars, he received little acclaim outside India. That changed abruptly and unexpectedly with the release of low-budget British movie "Slumdog Millionaire." The film has become an international sensation, winning four Golden Globe awards and receiving an astonishing 10 Oscar nominations.

See Anil Kapoor's "Slumdog Millionaire" success in photos.

Kapoor's role as the creepy quiz show host earned him a share in the Screen Actors Guild award for Best Cast. In typically modest fashion, Kapoor dedicated the award to the film's child actors. "They deserve this award" he said during his acceptance speech. "It's the children who've done it, not us."

Kapoor remains proud of his roots, visiting his childhood neighborhood every year, and he is grounded enough to be aware of the social problems in Mumbai. He is a goodwill ambassador for Plan India, an organization that helps street children, and he donated his entire "Slumdog" fee to the cause.

As he prepares to travel to Britain for the Bafta awards and to Los Angeles for the Oscars, Mr India remains characteristically self-effacing. "I feel so humble and grateful. I never expected the film to be so huge and successful," he said.

Whether he's accepting awards in Hollywood or making movies for Bollywood, Kapoor seems sure to keep his feet on the ground.

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This is the year for India.Pure and simple.

quote:

Originally posted by Alexander:
This is the year for India.Pure and simple.

Alex...i like how u said it...pure..n..simple...you feel deh same as i do...
wish others feel the energy as well...
will be watching Oscars Sunday nite...

RQ, thanks. Last night Latika aka Freida was on Jay Leno as well as AR Rahman and it was great, did you see it?

quote:

Originally posted by Alexander:
RQ, thanks. Last night Latika aka Freida was on Jay Leno as well as AR Rahman and it was great, did you see it?

Alex...guess i miss u hey last nite...no did not see Freida n Rahaman them on Jay L..was actually watching Elizabeth and Walter Raleigh story....surprising as i saw the credits..was directed by S. Kapoor...and music by Rahaman and some one else....deh maestro is sure getting around and will be #1 tomorow at the Oscars...keeping my fingers cross...

Rahman, Sukhwinder to perform at the Oscars

Guess who got the invitation to perform live at the Oscars this year? It's none other than our man of the moment A R Rahman.



Rahman along with Bollywood singer Sukhwinder Singh has been invited to open the 81st annual Academy Awards night, on February 22 in Los Angeles, with the Oscar nominated song Jai Ho from the film Slumdog Millionaire. Danny Boyle's film Slumdog... that recently swept the Golden Globes and created a huge buzz at the prestigious SAG awards is a favourite for the Oscars as well.

Meanwhile, Rahman is working on the song to adapt it to the live orchestra for his stage performance. Famous Bollywood lyricist Gulzar, who has penned the lyrics of Jai Ho is also expected to make an appearance at the gala award ceremony.

After winning India's first Golden Globe, A R Rahman once again created history when his compositions Jai Ho along with O Saaya received nominations for the Best Original Song category this year at the Oscars. Rahman has also been nominated for giving the Best Original Score for Slumdog Millionaire.

the 3 kids of the Slumdog movie...2 as younger versions of the stars...Dev Patel and Freida Pinto...

Will A R Rahaman take home an Oscar..

Whether A R Rahman will take home an Oscar or not, he will make history on February 22, as he performs two Oscar-nominated songs from Slumdog Millionaire at the ceremony. This is the first time ever an Indian song is presented at the event.

The Kodak Theatre will have a star-studded 3,500 attendees. Out of the three songs nominated this year, the third one is from the animated hit film Wall-E.

There is a lot of speculation about surprise Oscar presenters. Some Hollywood insiders say that Shah Rukh Khan who presented a Golden Globe a few weeks ago, will give away an Oscar.

There is also speculation that Sri Lanka-born rapper Tamilian M.I.A., who gave birth to her first child, a boy, last week soon after she performed at the Grammy Awards, will sing or watch someone else perform her part of the O Saya number. Oscar insiders say that they are afraid that she did not have enough time to practice for the event but she would certainly be joining Rahman.

"Her contribution to the song is extremely important," Rahman said. "She was the one who approached (director) Danny Boyle telling him that she wanted to be a part of the project. Besides, when we were thinking of pushing Jai Ho for the nominations, she urged that we submit O Saya too."

The Independent wrote a few days ago that 'the organisers have allegedly begged the singer M.I.A to perform live, via video link from her bed if necessary.

1 day to go - Destiny's child A.R. Rahaman road to the OSCARS

The biggest movie event of the year in Hollywood, Oscar Night will begin tomorrow and the prominence for this western event to India comes from the movie that has been making the head lines every other day, 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

With two Indians in contention, this year's academy award is a special event for the billions here in our country and they are ardently praying for our very own 'Mozart of Madras' to bag the coveted trophy making India proud. Tagging with Rahman is Maya Arulpragasam, easily identified as M.I.A christened after her first album 'Missing in Action'.

Despite pouring criticisms on 'Slumdog', for flaunting India's underbelly to the west and obnoxiously poking the miserable lives of slum kids in Asia's biggest slum Dharavi, the movie had a stupendous response in the west for the novel theme. British director Danny Boyle fascinated with Vikash Swaroop's 'Q & A', made this rags-to-riches story which turned the cast into overnight stars and they are basking in the glory of success now.

Media had a mighty feast in the past few weeks with controversial comments raging from every corner of India, including from celebrities Amitabh Bachchan, Priyadarshan and so on. Albeit the abounding slam, like Jamal of 'Slumdog Millionaire', the film won against all odds and triumphed with the prestigious BAFTA and Golden Globe awards.

Rahman's 'Jai Ho' and 'O Saya' is pitted against 'Down to Earth' from the animated film 'Wall –E'. Original musical score of the film 'Defiance' will give a tough competition for 'Slumdog Millionaire', says forecasters. Rahman bagging the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) and Golden Globe award for best musical score is believed to be a rehearsal for the Oscars by most of the Indian people.

Veteran Bengali Filmmaker Satyajit Ray's films made it to the nominations in the past and also Mira Nair's 'Salaam Bombay', a film made on slum kids was nominated too but didn't win the trophy. Bhanu Athaiya, was the last person from India to win the academy award for best costume design in the 1982 film, 'Gandhi' directed by a British filmmaker Richard Attenborough. Now, Danny Boyle has done the job and paved way for Indian talents to go global.

AR Rahman composed the musical score and no one knew the film would reach such heights to become a worldwide head turner. In a recent interview, Rahman said that when he first landed in the U.S., to receive the critics' guild award, the media gladly left him out of the picture. After winning the Golden Globe, he was admitted amidst the film crew. Later, in the BAFTA's, he became an iconic image for the western magazines and everyone wanted to feature the Indian who's been winning all the way.

Talent-wise Rahman sure stands tall and is unbeatable but is it destiny that lured the songster to this stage even though he had done even better compositions in the past. Was it the prophecy an astrologer foretold that he will go places at the age of 42? The big night for the west is now anticipated by the east and if we have winners from our side, the world's largest film consumer, India might commingle with the west to bring out world class movies.

We will know it once the awards are announced on the Oscar Night to be held at Los Angeles on 22nd February.

Let's keep our fingers crossed and wish the best of success for AR Rahman.

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Winning Oscar is my wife's dream: Rahman

A R Rahman is on top of the world after he became the first Indian to win three Oscar nominations for Slumdog Millionaire. He has been nominated in the Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories for two of his compositions, Jai ho and O Saya.

"For me its a triumph because people in India have been longing for something like this. Since its come through me for the first time I feel really honoured. I thank Danny Boyle, Fox pictures and all those lovely people including my agents from there," said Rahman after receiving the news.

"In fact winning an Oscar is not my dream, it's my wife dream," said the legend.

Talking about the two songs that have been nominated, Rahman said that he conceived and recorded Jai Ho here in India, while the other one O Saya was recorded in London.

He expressed his gratitude to lyricist Gulzar and said, "I thank him a lot. I admire him for the words he has written for the song Jai Ho. In fact, I thank all the musicians and people who worked with me to achieve this. What is more encouraging for me is the response from the Hollywood. Actors like Tom Cruise admired my work which is a great satisfaction."

Rahman disagreed to the ongoing controversy depicting Indian poverty in the film. He said, "I am very conscious of what we are presenting to the world about our culture and society. The film is all about optimism. It's about coming out of darkness. It instills optimism."

Asked how was it working with director Danny Boyle, Rahman said, "It was just great. He heard my music and liked it. I regard him as one of the great directors of Hollywood."

A visibly happy Rahman's mother Karima said, "Everyone in the family is very happy for him. he should get the award."

Hollywood may just be beginning to recognise composer A R Rahman's versatality after he became the first Indian to win a Golden Globe, but a little known fact about Rahman is that he has sold over 200 million albums worldwide, which is more than Madonna and Britney Spears combined.

No stranger to the international music scene Rahman joined hands with British impresario Andrew Loyd Webber's 2002 for Bollywood themed musical Bombay Dreams.

Rahman has also composed music for the Chinese film Warriors of Heaven and Earth. In 2006 the West end invited Rahman once again to compose the music for the stage production of JR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The composer is now set to collaborate with Kylie Minogue for A R Rahman the world is a stage.


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Slumdog Millionaire kids set to attend Oscars

The child stars of Mumbai-set hit movie Slumdog Millionaire will be celebrating two firsts this weekend: a trip on an airplane and a ticket to the Oscars Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

"The kids are on their way to the Oscars! Everyone is very excited," the film's British director Danny Boyle wrote to Daily News in an email on Friday.

The three main characters of the rags-to-riches story are played by nine actors, showing them in three stages of their lives, and all will attend the star-studded ceremony at the Kodak Theatre, Fox Searchlight Pictures said.

The older actors are no strangers to the limelight, including British Indian Dev Patel, 18, and Freida Pinto, 24, labelled a new style icon by Vogue magazine.

But for the younger co-stars, Rubina Ali Qureshi, 9, and Azhar Mohammed Ismail, 10, this will be their first time out of India, and first taste of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.

Fox Searchlight said it was paying the bill for visas, travel and accommodations for nine children to fly to Los Angeles for the Oscars.

The filmmakers were accused last month of exploiting the children. Boyle and producer Christian Colson have rejected the charge, saying the children were paid above local Indian wages for their work and that the film's makers were also paying for their education.

Slumdog Millionaire is nominated for 10 Oscars-the industry's highest honours-including best picture and best director. It already has won at the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild, and the British BAFTA awards.


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Mumbai slumdwellers root for Slumdog

Thousands of slumdwellers in Mumbai, many of them roofless and living beside gutters, are praying for the success of Slumdog Millionaire at the prestigious Academy Awards Sunday, hoping it will change the lives of some of them.

Though a majority of the slumdwellers in Garib Nagar, adjacent to the Bandra railway station in western Mumbai, can ill afford the steep ticket rates in multiplexes to watch the movie, they are still rooting for it. Some 20-odd children from Garib Nagar have played big and small roles in the movie.
Two children who essayed important roles - Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, 10, and Rubina Ali Qureshi, 9, both hailing from the slums - have already become the area's superstars and are being idolised by the young and old alike. They flew off for the Oscars ceremony.

"Their parents are very poor, they do odd jobs barely earning Rs.50-100 ($1-2) a day. Their homes were demolished by the civic authorities almost three months ago and they sleep under the open sky in a nearby garden," Dildar Bandarkar, a social activist and the area's Samajwadi Party leader, told IANS.

Rubina's mother Khushi has left her husband Rafiq, a carpenter. The little girl has gone to the US to take part in the Oscars ceremonies accompanied by her uncle, Moideen.

The movie by British director Danny Boyle is a rags-to-riches story set in India and has got 10 Oscar nominations.

Azharuddin's parents, Ismail and Shamim Shaikh, manage to eke out a living from their furniture trade. There is barely enough for a decent meal a day, his neighbour and friend of over 40 years Yakub Abdul Sheikh said.

"We pray to the almighty that the movie does well at the Oscars. Hopefully, that could brighten the future of these children," he said.

Naazna Umar Shaikh, deserted by her husband last year, also harbours hopes of a better future as her son Ibat, 2, played a bit role in the movie.

"He was only eight months old during the movie shooting and earned Rs.300 ($7) for a day's small role. I did minor jobs on the sets that day and earned another Rs 1,200," Naazna said as she stoked a fire in a garden to ward off mosquitoes in the evening.

However, the Shiv Sena municipal corporator of the area, Manmohan Chonkar, claimed ignorance of the celebrity children living in his constituency, Ward No. 90. "I heard something about these children, but I have not made detailed inquiries, so I cannot say much," he claimed.

He, however, mentioned the name of his banker friend Ganesh Lonkar's daughter Sanvi, who also enacted a role in the movie and has gone to the US.

Sanvi's mother Sharmila Lonkar, a paramedic at Hinduja Hospital, said after the movie the children became friends and met occasionally at various events. "But so far, they have not visited us," she said.

Sanvi, 13, loves dancing and was selected for a role after a successful audition test.

There was even a small 'pre-Oscar' celebration for the 20-odd children of Garib Nagar who have played big and small roles in the movie, Naazna said.

"A social worker, Nicholas Almeida, came and gave each child a medal with his or her name engraved on it and certificates. He said this was the 'Indian Oscar'. Our poor children were very thrilled by the gesture," she said.

Late Friday evening, the parents of many of the children who acted in the movie had assembled to wish bon voyage to the children who left for the US for the Academy Awards function.

"We hope their dreams are fulfilled and they can return home and improve their own lot," said Naazna and Yakub.

Incidentally, since its release last month, the movie has raked in over $100 million and has already bagged many prestigious awards, among them BAFTA and Golden Globes.

Now all eyes and hopes of Mumbai's slumdwellers are on Slumdog Millionaire - its success at the Oscars may spell a better future, at least for some of them.

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“Slumdog” film team defend treatment of slum kids »

LOS ANGELES/LONDON (Reuters) - The makers of “Slumdog Millionaire” have defended their treatment of child actors taken from the slums of Mumbai where the rags-to-riches tale, nominated for 10 Oscars, is set. In recent weeks the movie’s success around the world has been overshadowed by objections in India to the name, which some slum dwellers find...

'Slumdog’ kids to walk Oscar red carpet



The young stars of “Slumdog Millionaire” cruised Mumbai in an air-conditioned Toyota, did some last-minute shopping and got advice on the unimaginable: air travel. And then they left, on Saturday, to join hundreds of movie stars on the red carpet at Sunday's Oscar ceremony in Hollywood. “I feel very very very very very very good,” 10-year-old Azharuddin Ismail (left) said, sitting across from his home, a scruffy lean-to of tarps and blankets. He'd never been on plane. He'd never travelled outside India. Nor had Rubina Ali (9),
seen right...

Child stars, including those from the slums of Dharavi, who featured in the movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ have all left for the Oscars ceremony to be held in Los Angeles on Sunday, according to the publicists of the movie here.

In all, there are nine children who play the roles of the three main characters — Jamaal, Saleem and Latika — in the movie as very young kids, adolescents and teenagers. Only a few like Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto are
Fox Searchlight Pictures, producers of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ directed by Danny Boyle, said all children would be put up at five-star hotels in Los Angeles and would be shown the sights of the city. They will also visit Disney Land, officials said.

Slumdog’ premieres in India amid Oscar fanfare

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Critically acclaimed “Slumdog Millionaire” held its Indian premiere in the film’s native Mumbai on Thursday night, shortly after it won 10 Oscar nominations. The rags-to-riches story about a boy from one of the city’s teeming slums competing on a TV gameshow has been nominated for best director, best adapted screenplay and best picture...

Director dancing to Jai HO..Ho Ho...

Ask 18-year-old Dev Patel, lead actor in Slumdog Millionaire, to describe the experience of working with director , and his answer reads like an teenage top-deck bus conversation from his hometown of Harrow, or a random sampling of dialogue from his former stomping ground, Skins. Slumdog Millionaire Release: 2008 Country: UK Runtime: 120 mins Directors: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan Cast: Amil Kapoor, Azharudin Mohammed Ismail, Dev Patel, Irrfan Khan, Rubina Ali "It's brilliant. Awesome....

Cast & crew...of Slumdog Millionaire...

Slumdog kids all set for the Oscars



Slumdog Millionaire child actor Rubina Ali (centre) demonstrates a dance number to friends and neighbourhood children outside her shanty in the Bandra slums of Mumbai yesterday.

MUMBAI: Two of the child actors from hit film Slumdog Millionaire are expected on the red carpet at tomorrow’s Oscars, experiencing riches and glamour a world away from their lives in Mumbai’s shantytowns.
But who wins a coveted golden statuette under the bright lights of Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre is largely immaterial for Azharuddin Mohamed Ismail, who plays the young Salim, elder brother of the film’s central character Jamal.

He has more pressing concerns. The city authorities recently razed his family’s neighbourhood.
“My hope is that we’ll be able to get a house to live in,” said the boisterous 10-year-old at the tarpaulin-covered lean-to he now calls home before leaving for the US.
Slumdog Millionaire has captivated audiences around the world with its rags-to-riches tale of true love lost and found, sweeping the board at the Golden Globes and Britain’s Baftas, and bagging 10 Oscar nominations.

But concerns have been expressed that Azharuddin - Azhar to his friends - and nine-year-old Rubina Ali, who plays the younger version of Jamal’s love interest Latika, still live in poverty in the sprawling slums.
There have also been court petitions and protests about the use of the word “slumdog” for being derogatory to slum-dwellers, as well as criticism of Western portrayals of Indian poverty.

About half of Mumbai lives and works in the patchwork of communities of precariously-built brick houses, bamboo and corrugated iron-roofed huts, many without running water and surrounded by open sewers and garbage dumps. Slumdog director Danny Boyle, producer Christian Colson and others involved in the film insist that no offence was intended in the title and that they are providing for the two children. Azhar and Rubina are currently attending an English-medium school for underprivileged children and a trust fund has been set up for them until they are 18. They also get a monthly stipend.

But the money Azhar earned for filming has already gone to daily expenses, said his father, Mohamed Ismail Mohamed Usman, who sells cardboard to eke out a living. “The only thing that happened was that I became well-known because of my son. That’s it. Nothing else changed. My kid became a hero and I’m living like a zero. This is my shack,” he said.

For India’s film industry, tomorrow’s Oscars ceremony provides a chance to showcase the best of the country’s talent, said Fox Star Studios chief executive Vijay Singh.
It could also see the acclaimed composer A R Rahman, dubbed the “Mozart of Chennai,” become only the second Indian after filmmaker Satyajit Ray to win an Oscar. Ray was given an honorary award just weeks before his death in 1992. Rahman is up for three awards in the best musical score and song categories.

For the winners, Oscar success brings fame and sometimes huge fortune. For Azhar, the stakes are much higher. “Other people will see me in this film - big, big people. If another good director sees me, then they may take me. This film will be very useful to me,” he said. – AFP

Gulf Times

For kids in "Slumdog" slum, life is not as upbeat



In Nehru Nagar, the teeming Mumbai slum featured in the Golden Globe-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire", the only music heard is on tiny radio sets and the young boys have no ambition to appear on quiz shows.

Slumdog kids experience Oscar hysteria at dress trial

Tanvi, the Mumbai girl who played teenager Latika in 'Slumdog Millionaire' was all excited when she saw the sartorial finesse that awaited her in a plush Los Angels hotel.

Tanvi, along with the other 'Slumdog...' kids, landed in Los Angeles for the much awaited Oscars awards, that will be held at the Kodak theatre on Sunday night.

"Tanvi's measurements for the Oscar dress and the shoe size had been conveyed to the organizers well in advance. When she tried them on she was much delighted as also the other kids who were treated similarly", 13-year-old Tanvi's mother, Sharmila Lonkar told PTI.

"I spoke to her and she told me that the dress trial was given finishing touches and now the "Slumdog kids" were looking forward to the award announcements hoping for the best", she said.

Sharmila said the arrival of the kids aroused great interest among the American media, who gave them extensive coverage."The American media is more crazy about them (kids) than their Indian counterparts and their arrival was flashed all over", she said.

Tanvi was accompanied by her father Ganesh. Her mother, would be watching the event from her residence in Borivali.


Hindustan Times - Press Trust Of India
Pune, February 22, 2009

The Oscars : India will watch closely

As international film stars walk down the red carpet for the Oscar awards, millions of bleary-eyed Indians will be glued to their television sets early on Monday avidly following the fortunes of the much-discussed Mumbai-set film "Slumdog Millionaire".

The ceremony at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles will air from 6.30 a.m. (IST) on Monday and British filmmaker Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" is touted to be the favourite to bag the coveted statuette.

Ten and three are the numbers to remember - the first being the number of nominations that audience favourite "Slumdog Millionaire" has garnered, and the second being the categories in which A.R. Rahman, India's numero uno composer is nominated.

Rahman has already picked up a Golden Globe and a BAFTA in addition to numerous critics' awards, and it is fair to say that there will be some degree of shock if he goes home empty-handed from Sunday night's ceremony.

India's Resul Pookutty has also been nominated in the sound mixing category in the rags-to-riches story.

Two India-themed documentaries are also up for the Oscars. "The Final Inch" by American documentary makers Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant is about health workers travelling throughout Uttar Pradesh, urging parents to vaccinate their children against polio.

The second is "Smile Pinki" by American filmmaker Megan Mylan - a heartwarming tale of a poor village girl called Pinki whose cleft lip made her a social outcast, till her life changed after a meeting with a social worker.

"Slumdog..." director Danny Boyle and indeed the film itself are also hotly tipped as winners, though they are by no means dead certainties. In a strong year for film, David Fincher's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" has been nominated in 13 categories, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for leading man Brad Pitt.

A R Rahman and Sukhwinder to perform at the Oscars

Music composing genius A.R. Rahman and playback singer Sukhwinder Singh have been invited to perform at the 81st Annual Academy Awards Oscars)!



With several nominations for Slumdog Millionaire at the Oscars, including A.R. Rahman’s three, this comes as icing on the cake.

Rahman and Sukhwinder Singh will perform the song ‘Jai Ho’ at the “Oscar evening” on February 21st. Thought both artists are experts in performing live, this would still be a first-of-its-kind experience for them and make them ecstatic as well as nervous – because it is at Oscars!

Through Slumdog Millionaire, Indian Cinema has become the object of attention in the international arena. With an excellent performance at the Oscars, Sukhwinder and Rahman will look forward to add to this international admiration towards Indian Cinema
The honour of being the first Indian music director to be nominated for three Oscars sits lightly on the shoulders of A.R. Rahman, who attributes his success and fame to divinity.

“Allah the merciful has blessed Indian music. I am lucky to be one of his chosen representatives,” said Rahman.

Rahman received the three Oscar nominations for the music he composed for British filmmaker Danny Boyle’s rags-to-riches Bollywood style musical Slumdog Millionaire. While one nomination is for best original score, two are for the best original songs– Jai ho and O saya.

“My inspiration to compose the music was the movie, its thought and the message in the film,” he said.

“I am already deliriously happy about the nominations. But the happiness will be manifold if and when we get at least one Oscar,” Rahman added

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE SWEEPS OSCAR

Slumdog Millionaire won 8 Academy Awards.....





1. Best Picture...Producer...Christian Colson
2. Best Director...Danny Boyle
3. Best Song....Jai Ho...A.R. Rahaman
4. Best Original Score...A.R. Rahaman
5. Best Adapted Screenplay...
6. Cinematography...
7. Sound Mixing...
8. Film Editing...

BHARAT MATA KI JAI HO....

MORE LATER TODAY ON THIS HISTORIC DAY FOR INDIA..

quote:

Originally posted by RQ:

They are so cute

quote:

Originally posted by RQ:

This one is cute too,
thanks for posting.

Oscar after-parties flash global glitter

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - The glitzy, global spirit of Hollywood raged into the wee hours after the Oscars, with parties around town feting everyone from British best actress winner Kate Winslet down to the youngest "Slumdog Millionaire" star, drinking caffeine to keep up his strength.

Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, only 8, slurped on a can of Coca-Cola at Fox Searchlight's packed after-party Sunday night at ONE Sunset in West Hollywood honouring "The Wrestler" and "Slumdog Millionaire." Filmed in the slums of Mumbai, "Slumdog" snagged eight Oscars, including best picture and director.

Ayush, who lives in India and plays the youngest version of the movie's protagonist Jamal, sat on a sofa at the club, nursing his soda after midnight.

"Very excited," said Ayush, when asked about the wins. "It's unbelievable. I never thought I would get an Oscar. Daniel (director Danny Boyle) told us, 'If you work hard, the Oscar will come to you.' And it came."

As for being tired? "No, that's why I'm drinking this," he added.

Madhur Mittal, who plays the character Salim in the film, held a drink as throngs of women passed him by offering their congratulations. Guests, including Serena Williams, nibbled on red velvet cupcakes and sipped on cocktails including "The Slumdog," a mix of vodka, raspberries and lime garnished with a lollipop -far from the modest fare depicted in the film.

"It feels unreal. This is the best day of my life, man," said Mittal. "I come from India and I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be at the Oscars, much less be part of the movie that sweeps the Oscars."

Despite economic woes, myriad parties had all the glam and celebrity fraternizing of past soirees, though guest lists were substantially slashed and simple comfort food reigned.

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Leaders shower praise on Rahman, Pookutty for Oscar glory


NEW DELHI/CHENNAI: Composer A R Rahman and sound designer Resul Pookutty had made India proud with their three Oscars, President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday as congratulations poured in following the sweep by 'Slumdog Millionaire' at the Academy Awards.

The president said in her message: "I congratulate the winning team of 'Slumdog Millionare' and especially A R Rahman and Resul Pookutty for winning the Oscars in the three categories."

"They have made India proud," she said.

'Slumdog Millionaire' got eight Oscars, including two for Rahman and one for Pookutty. 'Smile Pinki', which bagged the best short documentary Oscar for its story about the problems faced by a little girl in an Indian village till she got her cleft-lip surgery done, also came in for praise.

The prime minister congratulated the creative teams for their Oscar awards wins and said their achievement was a tribute to the Indian film industry.

"The achievement of the creative teams of 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Smile Pinki' is a recognition of their vast talent. Their achievement is a tribute to the Indian film industry, which is a reservoir of multi-disciplinary talent which the medium of cinema embraces."

"The winners have done India proud and all those involved in the making of 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Smile Pinki' have our heartiest congratulations," he said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi also sent in her congratulations.

"I am delighted that A R Rahman and Resul Pookutty have won this year's much coveted Oscars for music and sound editing. I congratulate them."

She said all the actors, technicians and support staff who had worked in the movie had made India proud.

Lavishing praise on 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Smile Pinki' for winning the Oscars, minister of state for information and broadcasting Anand Sharma on Monday said it was "the finest hour of Indian cinema" on the global stage.

In his home state of Tamil Nadu, Rahman was hailed by chief minister M Karunanidhi as a "worthy son of Chennai".

"I consider the awards won by Rahman as precious jewels in the crown of one of our own with pride. I join 100 crore Indians and six crore Tamils in showering flowers of appreciation with pure minds on this scion from a minority community," Karunanidhi said in a statement.

AIADMK chief and former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha also came forward to say: "I would like to congratulate composer A R Rahman, who has won two Oscars - for best original song and best original score, and Resul Pookutty, who shares the Oscar for best sound mixing, for having kept the Indian tricolour flying high at the Academy Awards this year."

In the national capital, 'Slumdog Millionaire' was granted entertainment tax exemption with chief minister Sheila Dikshit saying it had "created history in the field of Indian cinema".

"This film has earned a special distinction by claiming eight Oscar awards in different categories and hence created history in the field of Indian cinema," Diskhit said in an official statement.

British director Danny Boyle's hit film about the rags to riches story of a boy from Mumbai slums has won eight of its 10 nominations.

Ryan Seacrest And The "Slumdog Millionaire" Kids Interview (VIDEO)

Ryan Seacrest may have been awkward during it, but he still had the cutest interview with the children from "Slumdog Millionaire" on the Oscar red carpet.

He could not pronounce their names and tried to engage with the youngest who did not speak English.

But, even his awkwardness couldn't ruin how wonderful the interview was, complete with Rubina Ali (young Latika) in a powder blue dress