Rahman wins two Grammys for `Slumdog Millionaire'

`Slumdog Millionaire" composer A.R. Rahman struck gold twice at the Grammy Awards on Jan. 31, adding to the Oscars he won last year for the film's soundtrack and theme song "Jai Ho".

Rahman, 44, beat Grammy veteran Bruce Springsteen in the motion picture song category while "Slumdog Millionaire" swept aside "Inglourious Basterds" and "Twilight" to win best compilation soundtrack for a film.

"Insane eh? I never even dreamt about winning all these awards," the composer said on his Twitter account.

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Pinto lands deal as global spokesperson for L'Oreal

Freida Pinto who catapulted to fame with her role as a gangster moll in "Slumdog Millionaire" has been chosen by L'Oreal Paris as one of its global spokespersons.

A couple of hours before the opening ceremony of the 62nd Cannes Festival, Pinto and actress Evangeline Lilly joined Elizabeth Banks as the newest World Spokespeople for L'Oreal Paris, the company announced in a May 12 release out of New York. L'Oreal Paris is a brand division of L'Oreal USA, Inc.

"I am verymoved to be joining the great L'Oreal Paris family and all these personalities: a family I am now proud to be a part of," Pinto said.

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Time Ho!

How do you measure influence? Well, according to Time magazine's Managing Editor Richard Stengel, you look for "people who are using their ideas, their vision, their actions to transform the world." The results may surprise you, as they probably did Time's editors, when a little-known college student topped the list. The magazine's Time 100 list of most influential people in 2009 includes five South Asians: A.R. Rahman, M.I.A., Nandan Nilekani, Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and Suraya Pakzad.

A.R. Rahman
Given his dream run at the Oscars and the Golden Globes, few would be surprised by A.R.Rahman's inclusion in the list. What is incredible is how the 43-year-old music director has taken the world by storm with his score for "Slumdog Millionaire." But he's no one-hit wonder, as anyone who has ever watched Indian films can vouch.

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First Indian to win two Oscars and perform live at the ceremony

Before A.R. Rahman received three Academy Award nominations for his contributions to ‘Slumdog Millionaire's' Indian in fused techno soundtrack, he was known across India as ‘the Mozart of Madras.'

He's long been Bollywood's best-known composer, a household name for his love ballads, offbeat world rhythms and patriotic pop hits that have sold more than 100 million albums, making him one of the world's top selling artists.

Across India, many fans celebrated his nominations (one for Best Original Score and two for Best Song), and newspaper headlines chanted, ‘Ra. Ra. Rahman.' But most fans say ‘Slumdog's' score was far from his best work.

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India's day at the Oscars at Kodak Theatre

I just love watching award shows. The star spotting, the dresses, the crowds, the television cameras, the reporters - I love it all.

So I leave no stone unturned while watching them. Making myself comfortable on the couch, I like to take in all the glamor and the glitz.

So how could I, of all the things, miss this year's Oscars?

The excitement of ‘Slumdog Millionaire' being nominated for 10 awards and the chance to see so many Indian faces on the red carpet was just too difficult to resist.

From the slums of Mumbai to the glamorous Hollywood, the world went Jai Ho as India's sound magicians A.R. Rahman and Resul Pokutty made history along with lyricist Gulzar bagging three Oscars for the film that won eight of its 10 nominations.

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Golden Globe icing on A.R. Rahman's career

A.R. Rahman, who won a Golden Globe award on January 11 for best musical score with 'Slumdog Millionaire', is one of India's most famous Bollywood composers and has sold nearly as many albums as Madonna.

His scores for a host of Indian language movies have fused global influences from hiphop and rap to Broadway musicals and Indian folk music in a way that critics believe could help Bollywood music become more global.

Rahman, 43, wrote the music for the ragsto-riches romance of a Mumbai slum boy.

It is the first time an Indian has won a Golden Globe for composing in a country whose rich classical traditions have inspired oeuvres of global music.

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'Slumdog Millionaire' sweeps to Golden Globe victory

In a ceremony alternatively as solemn and celebratory as the film that won a leading four prizes -- the rags-to-riches drama 'Slumdog Millionaire' -- January 11 night's Golden Globe awards helped focus the Oscar race as it honored the late Heath Ledger for his performance in 'The Dark Knight.'

By winning trophies for best dramatic picture, director, screenplay and score, 'Slumdog Millionaire' cemented its place as the awards season's most beloved underdog.

After losing its American distributor soon after it completed filming early last year, the modestly budgeted story of an unlikely Indian game show contestant now has become not only a powerful Academy Award contender but also a minor box office hit.

"We really weren't expecting to be here in America at all at one time so it's just amazing to be standing here," 'Slumdog Millionaire' screenwriter Simon Beaufoy said in accepting his honor from the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.

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'Slumdog Millionaire', a tribute to Mumbai, wins top award

Slumdog Millionaire,' a tribute to Mumbai and a story about a dream, won the top award at the Toronto Film Festival on September 13, ending a low-key event where many studios kept their best movies away.

The winning film, directed by Britain's Danny Boyle, opens in select U.S. theaters on November 28.

It tells of a teenager from the Indian slums who wins a chance of becoming a millionaire in a television game show.

The film received an enthusiastic reception from the Toronto audience, and actress Freida Pinto accepted the Cadillac People's Choice Award on Boyle's behalf.

"There are a lot of firsts for me in this," she said. "It's my first premiere, my first time dealing with the press, and now it's my first award.

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