Jai Ho, Jai Ho!
Come Home to the Oscars…. Or should I say… Oscars came home….
Finally, Danny Boyle and A R Rahman bring the most coveted Oscars back into the streets of Mumbai.
This is the third win for an Indian at the Oscars. The first being, Bhanu Athaiya who won for costume design in Richard Attenborough’s “Gandhi” made in 1983 and the second being, the legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray who was awarded a lifetime achievement Oscar in 1992.
‘Slumdog Millionaire’ swept EIGHT OSCARS at the 81 st Academy Awards including Best Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Sound Mixing, Film Editing, Original Score, Original Song, Direction and Motion Picture.
Rahman mesmerized the audience with ‘O Saya’ and ‘Jai Ho…’ the nominated songs from ‘Slumdog…’, as the nominees for Best Original Song were being announced. He came, he performed and he swept everyone away….
As the British director Danny Boyle walked in with his cast of Slumdog Millionaire family down the red carpet, all the nine cast members, who played the three main characters in the rags-to-riches magical fable, seemed to further race the hearts of millions of Indians watching all over. There were superstars Anil Kapoor and Irfan Khan also beaming with pride and joy.
Most importantly there were the two young cast members, who still live in Mumbai’s slums, making it very special for each and everyone at home in Mumbai.
The movie fetched Danny Boyle the Best Director award, Simon Beaufoy best Adapted Screenplay and Anthony Dod Mantle the best Cinematography award. The film was also awarded for Best Editing.
Rahman in his acceptance speech after bagging the Original Score Oscar, made LA sound like Mumbai with the legendary dialogue, ‘Mere pass Ma hai’ which means even if I have got nothing I have my mother here. I want to thank her for coming all the way to support me,”
The Gulzar and Rahman composed Lyrics “Jai Ho” won the Best Song.
Resul Pookutty, received the award for Best Sound Mixing with co-recordists Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke.
Also to further glorify this magical night, ‘Smile Pinki’, the tale of a Uttar Pradesh girl and her fight against the social stigma of a cleft-lip, won the Oscar award for Best Documentary (Short). This film was Directed by the Emmy-award winning Megan Mylan.
Let the glory continue……………..
Oscar Winners List: OSCAR Winners
Image Courtesy:
Oscar Logo Image: OSCARS
Slumdog: OSCARS
Smile Pinki: BBC
