Meanwhile, AR Rahman scored another massive victory in an impressively star studded career with 2 Oscar awards.  One for the original background score and one for Original Song (Jai ho) which was written by none other than Gulzar himself.

Am awesome day at the Oscars for India as the documentary, Smile Pinki, a heart-warming tale of a poor Indian village girl whose cleft lip made her a social outcast won the award for the best short documentary.

Many people look at Slumdog as poverty porn.  I look at it as the coming of age of Indians who by sheer determination and hard work are making a mark in the world.  They dont crib over their poverty and hardships; instead work hard to rise above all that life has to offer.  There are millions of examples around us and we just need to look around.

A perfect example of the same is AR Rahman.  From having to support his family as a young man after the untimely death of his father, he took to music and his dedication to his craft has brought him to the place where he is today.

“I want to thank everyone. The essence of the film is optimism and hope. All through my life I had the choice of love and hate…I chose love and I am here” an elated Rahman said.

The composer was overwhelmed and interspersed his speech with Hindi as well as Tamil on receiving the coveted trophy.

“There is a dialogue from an old Hindi film,”Mere paas ma hai” – which means I have nothing but a mother. My mother is here, I have her blessings. I am glad she could be here” said Rahman.

He ended the acceptance speech by saying “God is great” in Tamil, something he says after winning every award.

Meanwhile, sound engineer Resul Pookutty became the third Indian to bring Oscar glory for India by winning the award for sound mixing in Slumdog Millionaire.

“I dedicate this award to my country. This is not just a sound award but a piece of history that has been handed over to me” a beaming and emotional Pookutty said while dedicating the trophy to a billion Indians.

“I come from a country and civilisation that gave the world the word that precedes silence and is followed by more silence. That word is ‘Om’. So I dedicate this award to my country” said Kerala-born sound technician.

Pookutty shared the honours with colleagues Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke.

“This is unbelievable. I share the stage with two magicians, who captured the noise and cacophony of Mumbai to create the soul stirring artful sound of Slumdog Millionaire” he said.

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