Dedicated to Rasool Pookutty and A.R.Rahman

Hurray...!!! Dedicated to Rasool Pookutty and A.R.Rahman, who raised the credit of India with Oscar Awards..., originally uploaded by ArunaR.

The original author of this picture notes dedicated this to "Rasool Pookutty and A.R.Rahman, who raised the credit of India with Oscar Awards". He says, "Rasool Pookutty, a Mumbai based sound engineer ( hails from a small village called Vilakkupaara in Quilon district, Kerala) has proved his ability in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and has got the Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Sound mixing for his work in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. Music maestro A.R.Rahman, one of the most prolific and successful film composers in India has bagged the Oscar for Music composing..."

A R Rahman: India at the Oscars 2009

India at the Oscars 2009, originally uploaded by KaushiK™.

Slumdog Millionaire sweeps 8 Oscars

Oscars 2009: A R Rahman

India at the Oscars 2009, originally uploaded by KaushiK™.

Indian composer A R Rahman, who received two Oscars, for the Best Song and the Best Original Score, praised the city of Mumbai which inspired the book "Q&A", and subsequently the film. He praised all the people from Mumbai and the essence of the film, which is about optimism and the power of hope and our lives.

Slumdog Millionaire creates history winning 8 Oscars

India at the Oscars 2009, originally uploaded by KaushiK™.

The underdog Slumdog Millionaire, produced at a cost of only $14 million, bagged 8 Oscars out of the 10 nominations. The Slumdog won Oscars for the Best Picture (producer Christian Colson), Best Director (Danny Boyle) Best Adapted Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy), Best Original Score (A R Rahman), Best Song (Jai Ho, A R Rahman), Best Sound Mixing (Resul Pookutty and his team), Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which led with 13 nominations and produced at a cost of $150 million, had three wins, for Visual Effects, Art Direction and Makeup.

Slumdog Millionaire bags 10 Oscar Nominations

Slumdog Millionaire, originally uploaded by AsceticMonk.

Slumdog Millionaire received TEN NOMINATIONS for the 81st Academy Awards, second only to "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", that led the pack with 13 nominations.

Slumdog Mmillionaire, a Mumbai-based rags-to-riches romance, came in second in the 81st Academy Award Nominations with 10 nominations. Out of these, A R Rahman bagged three Oscar nominations. They are one for original music score and two nominations in the original song category. The songs are Jai Ho with lyricist Gulzar and O Saya with lyricist Maya Arulpragasam (Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, popularly known as M.I.A.). O Saya was performed by A R Rahman and M.I.A., while Jai Ho, featured Sukhwinder Singh, Tanvi Shah and Mahalakshmi Iyer.

Meanwhile the cast and crew of the film, including the director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson, are in Mumbai where the film was made and where it was being premiered.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a time-tripping fantasy, received the most with 13 nominations. For a full list of Academy nominees visit Oscars.com

Meryl Streep as Julia Child

Meryl Streep as Julia Child, originally uploaded by eatwellguide.

In 1977 Meryl Streep made her film debut with Julia, but won both critical and commercial success with her roles in The Deer Hunter (1978) and Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), the former giving Streep her first Oscar nomination and the latter her first Oscar win. She later won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Sophie's Choice (1982). So far Streep has received 16 Academy Award nominations, and has won two. Her current nomination is her 16th nomination for her role as Julia Child in Julie & Julia. Though it will be showdown between Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock for this year's Best Actress Academy Awards trophy, there are many Oscar-watchers and forecasters who feel that Bullock is the front runner for her role in The Blind Side. But some others reasons that it is Streep's chance to shine, as the Julie & Julia star hasn't won an Oscar for nearly 30 years.

The film depicts events in the life of Chef Julia Child, contrasting her life with Julie Powell, who aspires to cook all 524 recipes from Child's cookbook during a single year, a challenge that she described on her popular blog. Nora Ephron's screenplay is adapted from two books: My Life in France, Child's autobiography, written with Alex Prud'homme, and a memoir by Julie Powell. In 2002, Powell started blogging her daily experiences cooking each of the 524 recipes in Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and she later began reworking that blog. The film is the first major motion picture based on a blog.