Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, has received 10 nominations for Oscars this year.
Indian music composer AR Rahman has bagged three nominations for the Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire; one for Best Original Score and two for Best Song.
Slumdog Millionaire will be competing with the likes The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk and The Reader that are vying for the Best Motion Picture award.
The cast and crew of Slumdog Millionaire were in Mumbai for the premiere of the film. They caught the nomination announcement at the premiere venue via a live video feed to LA. On hearing the announcement the cast and crew present including Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy were overjoyed.
Anil Kapoor, who plays game show host Prem Kumar in the film said, "It is unbelievable. We are so happy it feels like the entire country has been nominated. The film gave India the platform to show the kind of talent India has. Now we must grab the opportunity instead of getting petty and narrow minded."
According to Frieda Pinto, who plays the love interest of the lead protagonist in the film, "The feeling is beyond words. 10 Oscar nominations! It's unbelievable."
"It's unbeleivable the result, 10 nominations for the film and specially the three for Rahman. He is not here because he is finishing work on his other film, he is working right now," said director Danny Boyle.
Co-director Loveleen Tandon said, "It has really opened new doors for us and I am happy that Slumdog became the vehicle for it. It is high time that the West woke up to Indian talent."
Irrfan Khan, who plays a police inspector in the film, feels the 10 Oscar nominations the film earned were a like a lottery and exudes confidence in A R Rahman in notching a coveted Academy award. "I am elated. It is unbelievable. I don't know how to react. It is like we have won a lottery," he said.
Diplomat-turned-writer Vikas Swarup said, "I think my book which was adapted into screenplay was nominated for the Oscar because Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy had heightened sensibility as people who loved India and Mumbai and that sensibility also came to the project. Even if they viewed it through the eyes of a 'foreigner', if I may use that word they also viewed us as people who felt greatly connected to Mumbai, the great city and its people."
The film tells the story of a slum kid who participates in popular reality game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (Who Wants to be a Millionaire?) and wins Rs two crore in a bid to win his love interest back.
Slumdog Millionaire is based on a novel by Indian diplomat Vikash Swarup and stars Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan in lead among others.
Recently, the film's protagonist Dev Patel won the most promising newcomer award at the British Independent Film Awards as well as the Best Young Actor Award at the Critics' Choice Awards.
Nominations for the 81st Academy Awards were announced by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis and actor Forest Whitaker.
The 81st Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on 22 February, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network.
Hugh Jackman will be seen hosting the awards and the same will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwid
The film has been nominated in the following categories:
Achievement in Cinematography - Anthony Dod Mantle Achievement in Direction - Danny Boyle Achievement in Film Editing - Chris Dickens Achievement in Music (Original Score) - A R Rahman Achievement in Music (Original Song) (Two Nominations) - A R Rahman Best Motion Picture - Christian Colson Achievement in Sound Editing - Tom Sayers Achievement in Sound Mixing - Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty Adapted Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy
