Indians all anxious for Oscars' result

New Delhi Feb 22
Indians are a prominent entity in the 81st annual Academy Awards with AR Rehman nominated for the Best Music Director.

The 81st annual Academy Awards will be announced in a glittering ceremony here today. The Oscars Awards take place on Sunday night with the hope that the film 'Slumdog Millionaire' nominated for ten categories will sweep the all awards.

27 years ago, Bhanu Athaiyya made history when she became the first Indian to win an Oscar. Now, as two other Indians are again in the run, experience is nerve-ending.
Bhanu Athaiya won the Oscar for best costume design for Gandhi in 1982.

Expectations are high among Indians that they would quench the thirst of Oscars with any Indian connection emerging winner in any of the category.

It will be a celebration time for Indian Cinema and Indians as well if music maestro A.R. Rahman, who has bagged three nominations for Slumdog Millionaire, will bring home the coveted trophy.

Rehman will become the first Indian if he manage to win this year's Academy Award. Prayers are on across the country to receive this glory.

In the original score category, Rahman faces competition from Alexandre Desplat (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), James Newton Howard (Defiance), Danny Elfman (Milk) and Thomas Newman (WALL-E).

The Indian composer is pitted against Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman (Down to earth from WALL-E) in the original song category. Gulzar has penned the lyrics of Jai ho and Mathangi 'Maya' Arulpragasam aka M.I.A. for O saya.

It is also a tryst with destiny for Indian sound technician Resul Pookutty, who is vying for an Oscar with his colleagues Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke for sound mixing in Slumdog Millionaire. Pookutty faces challenge from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, WALL-E and Wanted.
The Indian technician recently won a BAFTA and Cinema Audio Society (CAS) awards for best sound mixing. He is the first Indian to win the CAS award.

Boyle's Mumbai-based saga about a slumdweller's journey to fame and fortune, is generating equal hype in India with its predominant Indian cast and crew.

Other than Rahman and Pookutty, the film is fighting in six categories including the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

With 13 nominations, Brad Pitt-starrer The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the biggest threat to the film.

Smile Pinki, The Final Inch also vying for Oscars 'Smile Pinki' and The final Inch are two other films with strong Indian connections vying for the Academy glory this year.

Indian enthusiasm is not just limited to Slumdog Millionaire, two documentaries Smile Pinki and The Final Inch, are also in the Oscar race in Documentary (Short) category.
Smile Pinki is a 40-minute documentary that depicts the story of Pinki Sonkar, an eight-year-old girl from Mirzapur whose face cleft lip made her a social outcast.

Made in Bhojpuri and Hindi, the film has been directed by Emmy-nominated producer Megan Mylan.

Irene Tylor Brodsky's 38-minute documentary The Final Inch captures the struggle of polio field workers as they travel from village to village to administer polio drops under the polio eradication programme of India.

However, controversy marred this year's Oscars when the winners of 81st annual Academy Awards in each category was published on internet.

According to the document, Slumdog Millionaire managed to bag only three awards out of ten nominations.

After winning Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for his composition in Slumdog Millionaire, music director AR Rehman's name was missing in the list.

Kate Winslet has won best actress gong 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 gong for 'Doubt'.

'Slumdog Millionaire' has been named the best film while its director Danny Boyle has honoured with best director award. The movie also bagged 'The Best Cinematography' award.

On the other hand, the 'Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' has rejected the list and described it as a fraud.

"The document is a complete fraud," said Oscar spokeswoman Leslie Unger. The list first appeared on the international blog site Cinematical and it was believed to be authentic as it had the signature of Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences', media reports claimed.

The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are bestowed for the excellence in cinematic achievements.

The award is presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers.

The 1st Academy Awards ceremony was held on May 16, 1929, at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood to honor outstanding film achievements of 1927 and 1928. It was hosted by actor Douglas Fairbanks and director William C. DeMille.

The 81st Academy Awards honoring the best in film for 2008 will be held on February 22, 2009 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood with actor Hugh Jackman hosting the ceremony for the first time.

The official name of the Oscar statuette is the Academy Award of Merit. Made of gold-plated britannium on a black metal base, it is 13.5 in (34 cm) tall, weighs 8.5 lb (3.85 kg) and depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco style holding a crusader's sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes. The five spokes each represent the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians.

Today, according to Rules 2 and 3 of the official Academy Awards Rules, a film must open in the previous calendar year, from midnight at the start of January 1 to midnight at the end of December 31, in Los Angeles County, California, to qualify. Rule 2 states that a film must be "feature-length", defined as a minimum of 40 minutes, except for short subject awards and it must exist either on a 35 mm or 70 mm film print or in 24 frame/s or 48 frame/s progressive scan digital cinema format with native resolution not less than 1280x720.

The members of the various branches nominate those in their respective fields while all members may submit nominees for Best Picture. The winners are then determined by a second round of voting in which all members are then allowed to vote in most categories, including Best Picture.

The 81st annual Academy Awards will be announced in a glittering ceremony here today. The Oscars Awards take place on Sunday night with the hope that the film ‘Slumdog Millionaire' nominated for ten categories will sweep the all awards.

The Indian Cinema is eagerly waiting for today's Oscars announcement. A R Rehman, who is nominated for Best Music Director, will become the first Indian if he mange to bag the award for his composition in 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

However, controversy marred this year's Oscars when the winners of 81st annual Academy Awards in each category was published on internet.

According to the document, Slumdog Millionaire managed to bag only three awards out of ten nominations.

After winning Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for his composition in Slumdog Millionaire, music director AR Rehman's name was missing in the list.

Kate Winslet has won best actress gong 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 gong for 'Doubt'.

'Slumdog Millionaire' has been named the best film while its director Danny Boyle has honoured with best director award. The movie also bagged 'The Best Cinematography' award.

On the other hand, the 'Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' has rejected the list and described it as a fraud.

"The document is a complete fraud," said Oscar spokeswoman Leslie Unger. The list first appeared on the international blog site Cinematical and it was believed to be authentic as it had the signature of Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences', media reports claimed.