22 Feb 2009
LOS ANGELES: India waited with bated breath as hopes soared on Sunday for "Slumdog Millionaire" and A R Rahman to win the prestigious Oscars with the Rags-to-riches drama considered the overwhelming favourite for the best picture statuette.
Bookies favour British filmmaker Danny Boyle's Mumbai-based feel-good potboiler to bag the Best Film and Best Director trophy while millions of Indians hope for Rahman, Resul Pookutty and short documentaries "Smile Pinki" and "The Final Inch" to bring the Oscar glory home.
The Bollywood-inspired "Slumdog" has got 10 Oscar nominations and hasn't stumbled once this awards season.
With less than 24 hours to go for the 81st edition of the Academy awards to kickstart at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, India-set feelgood movie "Slumdog" is the overwhelming favorite, according to British bookmakers William Hill, which have priced the film at 1/10.
"It would be the biggest upset in modern Oscars' history to see Slumdog lose," said Pete Hammond, a veteran film critic, adding" It hasn't stumbled once this awards season.It has had an unprecdented sweep."
A spokesman for the betting firm said while there had been a burst of activity for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Slumdog" remained the "massive, massive favorite."
Ben Eckstein, a betting pundit with Nevada-based America's Line, said the race for best picture was over.
"We think that they could put the statue on the chair for Slumdog Millionaire," Eckstein was quoted as saying.
The 43-year-old Rahman who has already pocketed a Golden Globe and BAFTA, is nominated for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for his numbers "Jai ho" and "O saya".
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