A R Rahman now hopes to win at least one Oscar

London, Feb 6 (PTI) Indian music maestro A R Rahman, who has bagged three Academy Award nominations in two categories for his compositions in 'Slumdog Millionaire', believes he will win at least one Oscar with "God's blessings".
"I hope, we get at least one (Oscar). I cannot wait for the announcement," Rahman was today quoted in The Daily Telegraph as saying.

Only two Indians have ever won an Oscar -- costume designer Bhanu Athaiya for Gandhi (1982) and renowned filmmaker Satyajit Ray who received a lifetime achievement award in 1992.

However, with three Academy Award nominations this year for Slumdog Millionaire - one for overall score and for two songs - the Chennai-based composer looks likely to be the third, the report said.

He is also up for the Best Music award at Sunday night's Baftas.

"We've been waiting for this for 80 years," said Rahman.

"I believe that whatever comes at a particular time is a blessing from God," he said.

While Rahman first came to the attention of Western audiences with his film music for Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) and stage shows Bombay Dreams and The Lord of the Rings, his already stellar profile will go into overdrive should be win the Oscar on Feb 22. PTI

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A.R.Rahman gets triple nomination at the Oscars

By bagging triple nominations for his latest film Slumdog Millionaire at the 81st Oscar Academy Awards on Thursday, the all entrancing musician A. R. Rahman has brought a wave of cheer among music lovers of the country.

Rahman has been nominated in the Best Original Score category and twice in the Best Original Song section.

Slumdog Millionaire, a rags to riches story about an Indian boy of Mumbai slums, has bagged 10 nominations in all including Best Motion Picture category, Best Director - Danny Boyle and Best Adapted Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a drama in which Brad Pitt plays a man who ages backwards, led the field of Oscar contenders with 13 nominations, organizers said on Thursday.

"Slumdog Millionaire" has continued its unstoppable run with a host of nominations, including best picture, best adapted screenplay and best director for Danny Boyle. he film will contest with another British film, Frost/Nixon, for best picture category, along with The Curiuos Case of Benjamin Button, Milk and The Reader.

Meanwhile, Slumdog Millionaire and Kate Winslet lead the British nominations for the Oscars.

Winslet has one best actress nomination for The Reader but nothing for Revolutionary Road. The 33-year-old won Golden Globes for both performances. eaving the Oscar ceremony empty-handed would make Winslet the biggest loser among actresses in the history of the event. She has been nominated five times but never won.

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Ghajini all set to create box office collection history

Now that Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi had beenreleased, all eyes were on the Aamir Khan starrer, Ghajini. If one’s gut feeling is anything to go by, Ghajini should got an even bigger initial than RNBDJ. The makers have decided to unleash the film on 24th December now and not on Christmas Day, December 25th. There will be special paid preview shows on Wednesday at the multiplexes across which gave a big boost to it.India from evening 7 pm onwards. The film is expected to shatter most box office collection records in India. The main reason being, Ghajini is an action film which will attract the masses m. The craze is building up by every passing day as Aamir Khan too have gone the King Khan way of aggressively promoting his venture. Also, Ghajini is being released with around 1500 prints worldwide making it the highest number of prints released Bollywood film ever. Now it remains to be seen whether the actual lives up to the countless expectations riding on it and the hype it has created for various reasons.

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South African Indian filmmaker to produce Obama documentary

Johannesburg, Jan 17 (IANS) Amid global media frenzy over the inauguration of Obama Barack, award-winning South African Indian filmmaker Anant Singh said Saturday that he would produce a documentary feature on the first black president of the United States of America.

The film, titled "Barack Obama: People's President", is written, produced and directed by Danny Schechter, who was involved in "Weapons of Mass Deception" and "Viva Madiba: A Hero For All Seasons", which told the tale of Nelson Mandela.

Singh said he was partnering Schechter to produce and direct the film.

Singh also said that negotiations were currently underway with South African and US networks for the broadcast rights.

"The election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States is historic," Singh said.

"I was in the United States on election day and decided then that we would make a film on the first black and one of the youngest presidents of the United States.

"We are delighted to have partnered with Danny Schechter to produce and direct this film. He documented Nelson Mandela's journey to become the first black president of South Africa in 'Countdown To Freedom', which tracked the ANC's election campaign, culminating with the inauguration of Mandela as president."

Giving details of the documentary, Singh said: "It will show how his campaign mantra of 'Yes We Can' became 'Yes We Did', astonishing Americans and exciting world opinion.

"This is the story of how Obama inspired and organised millions of new voters to support him, and how brilliantly the Internet was used as a communications and networking tool as part of the campaign.

"The film goes inside the grassroots campaign and also speaks with activists, journalists and political leaders like South Africa's Desmond Tutu and Ahmed Kathrada who took Obama to Robben Island."

"I spent decades in commercial news," said director, Danny Schechter, "and I know how superficial coverage can often miss the real story.

"The Obama triumph is much more fascinating than what's been reported in the media. 'Barack Obama: People's President' tells the real story of Obama's journey to the White House with previously unseen footage and interviews," said Schechter, who worked at CNN and ABC NEWS before co-founding Globalvision.

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