AR Rahman with the two 2009 Oscars for Best Music score and Best Song

AR Rahman also won the 2009 Oscar award for Best Music score for a motion picture for Slumdog Millionaire.

Photo: Cast and crew of Slumdog Millionaire at the 2009 Oscar awards

In his 2009 Oscar acceptance speech, AR Rahman said:

“Before coming I was excited and terrified..the last time I felt like that during my marriage. There is this dialogue from my hindi film called meri pass maa hein..which means I have nothing but i have my mother..my mother is here..her blessings are there with me..I am grateful for her to come here all the way.
I want to thank the academy for being so kind…all the jury members. I want to thank all the crew of Slumdog Millionaire, Gulzar, musicians from chennai and mumbai.”

“I want to say something in Tamil, which i normally say at every award Elaa Pugazhum Iraivanukey – God is great!
Thank you,” he finished.

When he took the 2009 Oscar award for the Best Original Song, he praised “all the people from Mumbai and the essence of the film, which is about optimism and the power of hope and our lives”.

“All my life I’ve had a choice of hate and love. I chose love and I’m here. God bless,” he added.

AR Rahman performs the Jai Ho song at the 2009 Oscar awards ceremony

AR Rahman 2009 Oscar performance photo

Photo: AR Rahman performing at the 2009 Oscars

AR Rahman performed the song Jai Ho at the 2009 Oscar award ceremony. Earlier, Sukhwinder Singh was supposed to perform with AR Rahman at the 2009 Oscars but in the end it was only AR Rahman who sang Jai Ho.

Here are the lyrics of Jai Ho.

Lyrics: Gulzar
Vocals: Sukhwinder Singh.
Music: AR Rahman

Jai Ho!

Aaja aaja jind shamiyaane ke taley

Aaja zari waale neele aasmaane ke taley

Jai Ho!

Ratti ratti sachchi maine jaan gawayi hai

Nach Nach koylon pe raat bitaayi hai

Ankhiyon ki neend maine phoonkon se udaa di

Gin gin taarey maine ungli jalayi hai

Eh Aaja aaja jind shamiyaane ke taley

Aaja zari waale neele aasmaane ke taley

Baila! Baila! (Dance! Dance!)

Ahora conmigo, tu baila para hoy (Now with me, you dance for today)

Por nuestro dia de movidas, (For our day of moves,)

los problemas los que sean (whatever problems may be)

Salud! (Cheers!)

Baila! Baila! (Dance! Dance!)

Jai Ho!

Chakh le, haan chakh le, yeh raat shehed hai

Chakh le, haan rakh le,

Dil hai, dil aakhri hadd hai

Kaala kaala kaajal tera

Koi kaala jaadu hai na?

Aaja aaja jind shamiyaane ke taley

Aaja zari waale neele aasmaane ke taley

Jai Ho!

Kab se haan kab se jo lab pe ruki hai

Keh de, keh de, haan keh de

Ab aankh jhuki hai

Aisi aisi roshan aankhein

Roshan dono heerey hain kya?

Aaja aaja jind shamiyaane ke taley

Aaja zari waale neele aasmaane ke taley

Jai Ho!

Slumdog Millionaire bagged the major 2009 Oscar awards, for Best Picture and Best Director. All in all, the movie won eight awards: Best Sound Mixing (Resul Pookutty), Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Music Score, Best Original Song, and Best Film Editing.

Update: Slumdog Millionaire sweeps 2009 Oscars

Hugh Jackman will host and sing at the 2009 Oscars

Hugh Jackman will also host the 2009 Oscar Awards ceremony. The Oscar Awards ceremony will also have performances by Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper, who sang in Mamma Mia!.

Dominic Cooper and Amanda Seyfried in Mamma Mia!

E Online! has reported that Hugh Jackman and Beyonce have been practicing their number at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City. Hugh Jackman will be singing the opening number and a section in the middle of the musical extravaganza. Apparently, Jackman has said that he has been rehearsing for nearly six hours a day for the program.

High School Musical stars Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens will perform at the 2009 Oscar awards ceremony

Zac Efron will also present the 2009 Oscar for the Best Original Song.

Baz Luhrmann, director of Australia starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, will choreograph the musical program for the Oscars. Previously, Baz Luhrmann has directed musicals like Strictly Ballroom starring Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice in 1992, Romeo + Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in 1996, and Moulin Rouge! in 2001, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor.

Moulin Rouge! won the Golden Globe award for Best Picture in the Musical or Comedy category in 2001.

Hugh Jackman is a well-known actor, singer, and dancer in stage musicals. He became famous after performing in the Royal National Theatre’s stage production of Oklahoma!, in London’s West End.

Hugh Jackman has performed in the musical Carousal, and has also won the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, for his Broadway role in the hit musical The Boy from Oz, in 2004. In the stage musical, Jackman played the role of Australian songwriter and performer Peter Allen.

Hugh Jackman has starred in the 2000 X-Men as Wolverine, and Kate & Leopold. His other movies include Someone Like You (2001), Swordfish (2001), Van Helsing (2004), The Prestige (2006), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), and Australia (2008). Jackman will be next seen in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which is expected to be released in 2009.

In 2008, Jackman was named the Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine.

Update: Slumdog Millionaire sweeps 2009 Oscars

Anyway, someone – either some enterprising prankster, or an enterprising crook – has leaked a list of Oscar 2009 winners. And according to that, Slumdog Millionaire is the winner of 2009 Oscar Best Picture award.

We think it’s true. There has been so much appreciation about the movie about the poor boy from the slums of Mumbai that it has an extremely good chance of taking away the Best Picture award this year.

I am not being biased here, guys. I haven’t seen the movie yet, and Mumbai is where I spent 14 years of my life, and you can understand if I want it to win Best Picture this year.

According to the rumor, Slumdog Millionaire also wins Best Cinematography Oscar 2009, and Best Director awards.

Now we shall just hold our breath till the 2009 Oscar awards night, to know who the real winners are. Cool?

Update: Slumdog Millionaire sweeps 2009 Oscars

Dev Patel and Anil Kapoor in Slumdog Millionaire

The movie has been nominated for:
1. The 2009 Oscar Best Picture award
2. 2009 Oscar Best Director (Danny Boyle) award
3. 2009 music for motion pictures award
4. 2009 Oscar Original Song (Jai Ho) award
5. 2009 Oscar Original Song (O Saya) award
5. 2009 Oscar for Cinematography award
6.  2009 Oscar for Film Editing
7. 2009 Oscar for Sound Editing award
8. 2009 Oscar for Sound Mixing award
9. 2009 Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay award

AR Rahman who was the Golden Globe Best Original Score winner, has three Oscar award nominations in 2009.

Rahman is the 2009 Oscar nominee for the 2009 Best Music Score award. He is also the 2009 Oscar nominee for Best Original song. Rahman has provided the music for Jai Ho, while eminent lyricist Gulzar has scripted the lyrics.

AR Rahman has also been nominated for the 2009 Oscar for Best Original song, O Saaya. The music for the song has provided by Rahman, and the lyrics by AR Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

The Slumdog Millionaire team is, understandably, ecstatic. The Hindu quoted AR Rahman as saying, “We have been waiting for this for nearly 80 years, haven’t we? I am so elated. I hope we get at least one award.”

It is clearly Rahman’s time. Hollywood producers are now falling all over him, to do the musical score for their movies.

Although, AR Rahman has not revealed any details about the movies that are in the negotiations stage, he says that he will do a balancing act between Bollywood and Hollywood movies. Rahman has also acknowledged the contribution of one of India’s best known lyricists and yester years director, Gulzar.

Gulzar has been quoted as saying that any nomination for an award as prestigious as the Oscars opens new avenues for Indian artistes.

It is interesting to see how India has appropriated Slumdog Millionaire even though it is not technically an Indian film. We have a tendency to appropriate achievers from all walks of live, if they have any connection with India, however remote. Be it Freddie Mercury (well, not that much), or Kalpana Chawla, anyone who is India-born, even though he or she may have nothing to do with India. The premiere of Slumdog Millionaire on January 23, 2009 was peppered with Bollywood celebrities, dishing out quotes left, right, and center.

Well, at least, they don’t have egg on their face like Mercedes Benz and a certain soft drinks company . Remember Mercedes and the soft drinks company refused to allow their logos to be shown on their products that were used in the movie. The reason: The companies did not want to be associated with a slum. Looks like the slumdog has stumped the millionaire. Talk about a marketing nightmare.

Slumdog Millionaire revolves around the life of a young boy from the slums of Mumbai, who participates in a game show, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” and wins it. He is suspected of cheating by the show’s host (Anil Kapoor), because he comes from a very poor background.

2009 Oscar for Best Motion Picture award winner: Slumdog Millionaire, Produced by Christian Colson

The 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Motion Picture is Slumdog Millionaire: Produced by Christian Colson.
1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Producers Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin
2. Frost/Nixon: Produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner
3. Milk: Produced by Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen
4. The Reader: A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nomeiness to be determined
5. Slumdog Millionaire: Produced by Christian Colson

2008 Oscar Best Picture award winner: No Country for Old Men

2009 Oscar for Best Actor award in a leading role winner: Sean Penn for Milk

Sean Penn is the winner of the 2009 Best Actor in a leading role award for Milk.

1. Richard Jenkins, The Visitor
2. Frank Langella , Frost/Nixon
3. Sean Penn, Milk
4. Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

2008 Best Actor award winner: Daniel Day-Lewis

2009 Oscar for Best Actor in a supporting role award winner: Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Actor in a supporting role for his role in the movie The Dark Knight.

Other nominees:

1. Josh Brolin, Milk

2. Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
3. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
4. Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
5. Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

2008 Best Supporting Actor award winner: Javier Bardem

2009 Oscar for Best Actress in a leading role award winner: Kate Winslet, The Reader

Kate Winslet is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Actress in a leading role.

1. Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
2. Angelina Jolie, Changeling
3. Melissa Leo, Frozen River
4. Meryl Streep, Doubt
5. Kate Winslet, The Reader

2008 Best Actress award winner: Marion Cotillard

2009 Oscar for Best Actress in a supporting role award winner: Penelope Cruz

Penelope Cruz is the 2009 Oscar award winner for the Best Actress in a supporting role for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

1. Amy Adams, Doubt
2. Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
3. Viola Davis, Doubt
4. Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

2008 Best Supporting Actress award winner: Tilda Swinton

2009 Oscar for Best Director award winner: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Director.

1. Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
2. Stephen Daldry, The Reader
3. David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4. Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
5. Gus Van Sant, Milk

2008 Best Director award winner: Joel and Ethan Coen

2009 Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay award winner: Slumdog Millionaire, screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Simon Beaufoy is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Adapted Screenplay for Slumdog Millionaire.

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, screenplay by Eric Roth; story by Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
2. Doubt, written by John Patrick Shanley, previously nominated for Moonstruck (1987)
3. Frost/Nixon, screenplay by Peter Morgan, previously nominated for The Queen (2006)
4. The Reader. screenplay by David Hare
5. Slumdog Millionaire, screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

2008 Best Adapted Screenplay award winner: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

2009 Oscar for Original Screenplay award winner: Milk, Dustin Lance Black

Dustin Lance Black is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Original Screenplay for Milk.

1. Frozen River, Courtney Hunt
2. Happy-Go-Lucky, Mike Leigh
3. In Bruges, Martin McDonagh

4. Milk, Dustin Lance Black

5. Wall-E, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon

2008 Best Original Screenplay award winner: Diablo Cody

2009 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film award winner: Departures, A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan

Departures, A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan, is the winner of the 2009 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

1. The Baader Meinhof Complex, Constantin Film Production, Germany
2. The Class, A Haut et Court Production, France
3. Departures, A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
4. Revanche, A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
5. Waltz with Bashir, A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel

2008 Oscar Best Foreign Language Film award winner: The Counterfeiters, Austria

2009 Oscar for Best Animated Film award winner: Wall-E

Wall-E has is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Animated Film.

1. Bolt, Produced by Chris Williams and Byron Howard
2. Kung Fu Panda, Produced by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
3. Wall-E, Produced by Andrew Stanton

2008 Best Animated Film award winner: Ratatouille

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Music for Motion Pictures – Original score award winner: A.R. Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire.

The 2009 Oscar award winner for Achievement in Music for Motion Pictures is A.R. Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire.

A.R. Rahman is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Achievement in Music for Motion Pictures (original score), for Slumdog Millionaire.

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Alexandre Desplat
2. Defiance, James Newton Howard
3. Milk, Danny Elfman
4. Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman
5. Wall-E, Thomas Newman

2008 Best Achievement in Music for Motion Pictures winner: Dario Marianelli, Atonement

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures – Original song

A. R. Rahman is the winner of the 2009 Oscar for Achievement in Music written for Motion Pictures (Original Song) for Jai Ho.

1. Down to Earth, Wall-E, Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyrics by Peter Gabriel
2. Jai Ho, Slumdog Millionaire, Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyrics by Gulzar
3. O Saya, Slumdog Millionaire, Music and Lyrics by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

2008 Best Achievement in Music for Motion Pictures – original song award winner: Falling Slowly, Once

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Art Direction award winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Art Director: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo

Winner of 2009 Oscar for Achievement in Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Art Director: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo

1. Changeling, Art Director: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Art Director: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
3. The Dark Knight, Art Director: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
4. The Duchess, Art Director: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
5. Revolutionary Road, Art Director: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

2008 Best Achievement for Art Direction winner: Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Cinematography award winner: Slumdog Millionaire, Anthony Dod Mantle

Anthony Dod Mantle is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Achievement in Cinematography.

1. Changeling, Tom Stern2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Claudio Miranda
3. The Dark Knight, Wally Pfister4. The Reader, Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
5. Slumdog Millionaire, Anthony Dod Mantle

2008 Oscar for Achievement in Cinematography winner: There Will Be Blood

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Costume Design award winner

The 2009 Oscar award for Achievement in Costume Design winner is Michael O’Connor for The Duchess.

1. Australia, Catherine Martin
2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Jacqueline West
3. The Duchess, Michael O’Connor
4. Milk, Danny Glicker
5. Revolutionary Road, Albert Wolsky

2008 Best Achievement in Costume Design winner: Elizabeth: The Golden Age

2009 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature award winner: Man on Wire, Produced by James Marsh and Simon Chinn

Man on Wire, Produced by James Marsh and Simon Chinn, is the winner of the 2009 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

1. The Betrayal, Produced by Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
2. Encounters at the End of the World, Produced by Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
3. The Garden, Produced by Scott Hamilton Kennedy
4. Man on Wire, Produced by James Marsh and Simon Chinn
5. Trouble the WaterProduced by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

2008 Best Achievement for Best Documentary winner: Taxi To the Dark Side

2009 Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject award winner: Smile Pinki, Produced by Megan Mylan

Smile Pinki, Produced by Megan Mylan is the 2009 winner for Best Documentary Short Subject award.

1. The Conscience of Nhem En, Produced by Steven Okazaki
2. The Final Inch, Produced by Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
3. Smile Pinki, Produced by Megan Mylan
4. The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306, An Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

2008 Best Achievement for Best Documentary Short Subject winner: Free Held

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Film Editing award winner: Slumdog Millionaire, Chris Dickens

Chris Dickens is the 2009 Oscar for Achievement in Film Editing award winner for Slumdog Millionaire.

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
2. The Dark Knight, Lee Smith
3. Frost/Nixon, Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
4. Milk, Elliot Graham
5. Slumdog Millionaire, Chris Dickens

2008 Best Achievement  in Film Editing winner:  The Bourne Ultimatum

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Makeup award winner: Greg Cannom for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Greg Cannom for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the 2009 Oscar for Achievement in Makeup award winner.

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Greg Cannom
2. The Dark Knight, John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
3. Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

2008 Oscar Achievement  in Makeup award winner: La Vie en Rose

2009 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film award winner: La Maison en Petits Cubes, Kunio Kato

La Maison en Petits Cubes, Kunio Kato is the 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Animated Short Film.

1. La Maison en Petits Cubes, Kunio Kato
2. Lavatory – Lovestory, Konstantin Bronzit
3. Oktapodi, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
4. Presto, Doug Sweetland
5. This Way Up, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

2008 Oscar Achievement Best Animated Short Film award winner: Peter & The Wolf

2009 Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film award winner: Spielzeugland (Toyland), Jochen Alexander Freydank.

Spielzeugland (Toyland), is 2009 Oscar award winner for Best Live Action Short Film.

1. Auf der Strecke (On the Line), Reto Caffi
2. Manon on the Asphalt, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont3. New Boy, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
4. The Pig, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
5. Spielzeugland (Toyland), Jochen Alexander Freydank

2008 Oscar Achievement Best Live Action Short Film award winner: Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Sound Editing award winner: Slumdog Millionaire, Tom Sayers

Tom Sayers has won the 2009 Oscar award for Achievement in Sound Editing for Slumdog Millionaire.

1. The Dark Knight, Richard King
2. Iron Man, Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
3. Slumdog Millionaire, Tom Sayers
4. Wal-E, Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
5. Wanted, Wylie Stateman

2008 Oscar Achievement in Sound Editing award winner: The Bourne Ultimatum

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Sound Mixing award winner: Slumdog Millionaire, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty

Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty have won the 2009 Oscar for Achievement in Sound Mixing award for Slumdog Millionaire.

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
2. The Dark Knight, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
3. Slumdog Millionaire, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
4. Wall-E, Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
5. Wanted, Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

2008 Oscar Achievement in Sound Editing award winner: The Bourne Ultimatum

2009 Oscar for Achievement in Visual Effects award winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron

Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron have won the 2009 Oscar for Achievement in Visual Effects award for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
2. The Dark Knight, Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
3. Iron Man, John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

2008 Oscar Achievement in Visual Effects award winner: The Golden Compass