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The British-made film about an orphan boy from the Mumbai slums who enters the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? is also shortlisted for best adapted screenplay - writer Simon Beaufoy’s story is based on the novel Q&A by writer Vikas Swarup.
The other nominations are for cinematography, film editing, sound editing, sound mixing, original score and original song (it has two nominations in the last category).
Its star, 18-year-old Londoner Dev Patel, missed out on a best actor nomination, but is thrilled at the prospect of attending the Los Angeles ceremony on February 22.
Patel said: “It’s just amazing. For Slumdog Millionaire to be included in the nominations for the Oscars is a huge honour. When we first began working on the film I don’t think any of us ever imagined that we might end up attending the Oscars ceremony as a result. I’m just so proud to be a part of this project and I have been overwhelmed by the positive reaction to the film. Thank you to everyone who has supported us. I truly feel blessed.
Beaufoy, whose previous credits include The Full Monty, said: “Secretly and sometimes not so secretly, this is the nomination that floats in every screenwriter’s dreams. I am fantastically happy and honoured - not just for myself but for Vikas Swarup’s wonderful novel without which I would have never started my journey to the world’s Maximum City, Mumbai.”
The heart-warming story won four Golden Globes earlier this month - for best picture, best director, best screenplay and best soundtrack - and has 11 Bafta nominations in total.
Although it is destined to be one of the biggest hits of the year, Slumdog Millionaire does have its detractors. Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan is among those who have criticised the film, suggesting that it “projects India as [a] Third World dirty underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots”.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Thrilled Somdev keeps his feet on the ground - Youngster becomes first indian to reach Chennai open fina
Somdev Dev Varman on Saturday said he would not let himself go overboard after reaching the Chennai Open final, his maiden appearance in an ATP Tour summit clash.
“I don’t want to go ahead of myself. It is one tournament and one performance, not an entire year. I don’t want to think of me as something I am not,” Somdev said after receiving a walkover in the semi-final from world No. 33 Rainer Schuettler of Germany.
“It could have been different. I could have drawn (Marin) Cilic (the third seed and his opponent in the final) or Nikolay Davydenko (world no. 5 and top seed who was out in the second round with an injury). I am still confident and keen to play in the final, but I don’t want to be caught up (by the hype) at this stage.”
Somdev said he would have preferred to make it to the final by winning the semi-final but would not lose focus after Schuettler’s withdrawal due to a wrist injury.
“You never take comfort from a walk-over. It is unfortunate. I was actually looking forward to and excited about playing today in front of the big crowd,” he said.
“There was a day’s break earlier also (when rain washed out play on Wednesday) but I don’t want to get too complicated about these things. I want to keep it simple.
“I want to do the routines as before, eat the right food and sleep on time, and not let these things affect my performance.”
The Chennai Open has issued wild cards to Indians in the past but this is the first time a home favourite has entered the final.
It is the same city where he grew up honing his racquet skills and the fans have flocked the Nungambakkam stadium to show their support for him this week.
Somdev acknowledged the crowd support. “You have helped me every single day and hope you come out and help me tomorrow (when playing the final),” he told the audience on the Centre Court to a huge roar.
“I am disappointed for the crowd … but don’t want to get too emotional. I don’t think of it as a bad thing,” Somdev said later.
“I want to put this behind me, I want to forget about how I got there. What is important for me now is to focus on the right things. Cilic is tough to handle anyway.”
It will be the first time Somdev is playing 20-year-old Cilic who has risen to become the numero uno Croat with a ranking of 22 at the end of 2008.
“I know it’s going to be tough. He is a seasoned pro and has been fantastic this week. I want to be solid on the baseline and probably attack a little more than I normally do,” Somdev said of his gameplan for Sunday’s title contest.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The India's Enron
Led by internet firm Sify, the shares of 16 Indian entities witnessed a plunge in their share prices.
While American Depository Receipts (ADRs) of Sify Technologies nosedived 17.98 per cent to settle at USD 1.46, shares of two private sector lenders -- ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank -- plunged as much as 13 per cent on the NYSE.
On January 7, the New York Stock Exchange halted trading in Satyam Computer Services Ltd after Satyam stock plunged by over 90 per cent to 0.85 dollars in pre-market trade in the US following Satyam founder and chairman B Ramalinga Raju's confession of a Rs 8,000 crore fraud in the company.
However, a NYSE spokesperson did not specify as to when the trading would be resumed in Satyam.
"The trading is halted... I cannot speculate about when the halts will be lifted. Nor can I speculate about any other possible actions," a spokesperson for NYSE Euronext told PTI in an emailed reply on queries when trading would resume in Satyam shares.
"NYSE Regulation is currently evaluating the news relating to Satyam and will closely monitor further developments. The security will remain halted until further notice," NYSE had said on January 7.
Meanwhile, on the Indian bourses, shares of Satyam plunged by close to 78 per cent yesterday, wiping off about Rs 10,000 crore (more than two billion dollars) from its market valuation.
Meanwhile, Nasdaq-listed IT bellwether Infosys defied the trend and advanced USD 0.34 or 1.28 per cent to 26.94 dollars, while NYSE-listed Wipro ended with a marginal fall of 1.78 per cent at USD 8.26
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