Monday, February 23, 2009

Mumbai slums take over Hollywood

The rags-to-riches love story "Slumdog Millionaire" set in the slums of Mumbai triumphed at the 81st Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood Sunday night, taking eight academy awards, including Best Picture.

Danny Boyle picked up the Oscar for the feel-good tale of a Mumbai orphan’s escape from poverty. The film’s victory mirrors its protagonists’ story.

“Slumdog Millioniare" is truly a story about dreams. The movie almost didn’t get distributed. Fox Searchlight picked up the movie after Time Warner closed its small-picture divisions.

It was made with a meagre budget of $15 million with a cast of unknowns and pushed aside “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” a $150 million production starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, which received 13 nominations; "Slumdog" was nominated for 10.

Kate Winslett was adjudged Best actress for her portrayal of a former guard at a Nazi concentration camp. Sean Penn won the leading-actor Oscar for his portrayal of Harvey Milk, the gay San Francisco supervisor who was murdered in 1978 by a political rival.

The late Heath Ledger won the supporting-actor Oscar for his role as the Joker in “The Dark Knight,” becoming the second actor to win the prize posthumously. Ledger died last year of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 28.

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Jai & Sero

Jai & Sero

Our family at home in Toronto 2008

Our family at home in Toronto 2008
Amit, Heather, Fuzz, Aj, Jiv, Shiva, Rampa, Sero, Jai