After Oscar its Dr A R Rahman

Music maestro A R Rahman is amidst very good times. It is raining awards, honours and recognitions for him.

After bagging 2 Oscars for magical music in Slumdog Millionaire, now A R Rahman will be honoured a Doctorate by Anna University, Chennai for his overall achievements. Anna University will bestow A R Rahman, a Doctorate of Media Sciences with a Ph.D. during its forthcoming special convocation. Usually it is the politicians and film stars who are felicitated with the doctorates degree but now this degree will be conferred upon a musician for the soothing and healing touch his music provides.

Apart from A R Rahman, space scientist Mayilsamy Annadurai and Local Administration Minister M K Stalin will also be awarded the doctorates at the convocation. The special convocation is scheduled for March-end.

Slumdog Millionaire star's dad wants more money

Exactly a week after winning eight Oscars Awards, the team of Slumdog Millionaire has got mired in a new controversy.

Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail who plays the brother of child lead - Jamal in the film, will get less than £20,000 from the producers of the film. The producers have set up a trust fund for the children which they will access once they turn 18.

This has left his father, Mohammed Ismail complaining. He feels that the money given to his son isn't enough. His father has now has demanded more cash from the producers. "My son has taken on the world and won. I am so proud of him but I want more money. They promised me a new house but it hasn't happened. I'm still in the slum." He said.

The producers have promised to buy a home to the families after facing allegations that the children were not paid well for working in the film.

A R Rahman escapes death in LA

A R Rahman’s double Oscar has been the talk of the movement of late. But little did people know that he just escaped death during the rehearsals for his stage performance for the Oscars.

The shocking shave with death caught attention after Rahman return to India on Thursday and blurted out the truth innocently. The accident could have proved dangerous and could have spelt death for Rahman.

Recalling the nerve-wracking experience Rahman says, “I really don’t know what happened. Two days before the Oscars we were rehearsing at one of the theatres for the Oscars, when a massive chandelier covering portion of the ceiling crashed to the spot just a split-second after I moved away.”

It seems as if god is on his side else Rahman could have been history.

Oscar Award 2009 Winners List

Most of you might be looking for the complete list of OSCAR Award winners. Here are the OSCAR Award winners presented in order of acceptance at the 81st Annual Academy Awards.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Penelope Cruz - (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)

Best Original Screenplay
Milk

Best Adapted Screenplay
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Animated Feature
WALL-E

Best Animated Short Film
La Maison en Petits Cubes

Best Art Direction
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Costume Design
The Duchess

Best Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Cinematography
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Short Film- Live Action
Spielzeugland

Best Documentary Feature
Man on Wire

Best Short Documentary
Smile Pinki

Best Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Sound Editing
The Dark Knight

Best Sound Mixing
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Film Editing
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Score
A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire)

Best Original Song
Jai Ho (Slumdog Millionaire)

Best Foreign Language Film
Departures

Best Direction
Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Best Actress in Leading Role
Kate Winslet (The Reader)

Best Actor in Leading Role
Sean Penn (Milk)

Best Picture
Slumdog Millionaire

A R Rahman - The First Indian Oscar Winner

A.R. Rahman holds the Oscars for best original score and for best original song "Jai Ho" for his work on "Slumdog Millionaire" during the 81st Academy Awards Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles.

...and A. R. Rahman made all of us feel proud.

Jai Ho...

Academy Awards 2009- Oscar Results LEAKED Online

The results of 81st Academy Awards, which are to be officially announced this weekend on February 22, have reportedly been leaked online. If the reports are true then Danny Boyle’s award winning “Slumdog Millionare” that has been nominated in 11 categories has won the two prestigious- Best director and Best Film Awards.

The list of this year’s Oscar winners has been published in a document on the net. The document looks genuine and has apparently been scanned in. It also has an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences letterhead and with the signature of Academy’s president, Sid Ganis.

According to the list, “Slumdog Millionaire” has been named the best film and its director Danny Boyle has won the best director award. Kate Winslet has won best actress Oscar for ‘The Reader’ and Mickey Rourke has bagged best actor award for ‘The Wrestler’. Heath Ledger has been named best supporting actor for “The Dark Knight” and Amy Adams has won best supporting actress award for ‘Doubt’.

However, an Academy Awards representative has clarified that the list is a ‘complete fraud’ and has justified that the vote counting process is still on.

10 Oscar nominations for Slumdog Millionaire

The much talked about movie Slumdog Millionaire has got ten nominations at official Academy Awards nominations 2009.

The following are the categories under which Slumdog Millionaire is nominated at the 2009 Academy Awards:

Achievement in Cinematography
Achievement in Directing
Achievement in Film Editing
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song - Jai Ho)
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song - O Saya)
Achievement in Best Motion Picture of the Year
Achievement in Sound Editing
Achievement in Sound Mixing
Achievement in Adapted Screenplay

Slumdog Millionaire becomes the second film after the Brad Pitt starrer, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, with ten or more than ten nominations at the 2009 Oscars. Now that's what we call an achievement. The director of Slumdog Millionaire is a British, the lead actor Dev Patel is an Indian-Brit but the story is Indian, the backdrop is Mumbai, the music is Indian and the other lead actors and supporting cast are Indians.

What's more interesting and exciting is the fact that our very own team of Bollywood will grace the red carpet at the awards. Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan and Freida Pinto. But the man who will lead our national flag is going to be A.R.Rahman. The musical genius has won himself three nominations from the ten listed. Rahman has been nominated for the original score for Slumdog Millionaire with one nomination and for original song with two nominations ('Jai Ho' and 'O Saya').

The Academy Awards will be announced on February 22, Sunday.

Taare Zameen Par lost out Oscar race

Taare Zameen Par, was India's official entry to the Oscars. And the bad thing is that TZP is out of the Oscar race in the 'Best Foreign Film' category.

Here are the 9 films that will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category. They include: Revanche (Austria), The Necessities of Life (Canada), The Class (France), The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany), Waltz with Bashir (Israel), Departures (Japan), Tear This Heart Out (Mexico), Everlasting Moments (Sweden) and 3 Monkeys (Turkey).

This is second time when Aamir has lost out in the race to the Oscars. The first time being Lagaan.

Taare Zameen Par becomes India's official entry to Oscars

Aamir Khan's directorial debut Taare Zameen Par, which won the hearts of audiences world over, has been selected as India's official entry to the Oscars.

The heartwarming story of a dyslexic child (portrayed by Darsheel Safary) and his supportive teacher (played by Aamir himself) was both a critical and commercial success. Taare Zameen Par edged out competition such as Jodhaa Akbar and A Wednesday to be chosen as India's official entry to the prestigious Academy awards.

Last time around Aamir Khan Productions' Lagaan made it to the Final 5 nominated films in the Best Foreign Film category. Now producer-director Aamir Khan would be hoping that Taare Zameen Par not just finds a nomination in the Top 5, but also bags the coveted trophy.

Here's wishing to Aamir and the entire team of Taare Zameen Par.
“Congratulations and loads of luck for the Oscar campaign.”