New Delhi: Politicians across party lines hailed composer AR Rahman’s double honour at the 81st Academy Awards. They also lauded Resul Pookutty for his Oscar feat.
AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha on Monday congratulated Rahman and Pookutty for winning Oscars for music and sound mixing, saying the duo were role models for the youth.
"The honours won by Rahman and Pookutty are of the same calibre. Not only should we salute their excellence but the new generation should also look up to them as positive role models worth emulating," IANS quoted the AIADMK chief as saying.
It is indeed a matter of pride for India and Indians that the film Slumdog Millionaire, which centres around India, has dominated the 81st Academy Awards circuit bagging as many as eight Oscars, she said, and also congratulated filmmaker Danny Boyle and his team for their resounding success.
Meanwhile, Home Minister P Chidambaram said, “I would like to request the Finance Ministry to exempt the film from tax.”
And it seems Chidambaram’s wishes were party fulfilled when Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit granted entertainment tax exemption to the film saying it had "created history in the field of Indian cinema".
"This film has earned a special distinction by claiming eight Oscar awards in different categories and hence created history in the field of Indian cinema," Diskhit said in an official statement.
Hailing Rahman, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi called the composer a “worthy son of Chennai.”
"Six crore Tamils are rejoicing over the pinnacle of achievement of this worthy son of Chennai. I join 100 crore Indians in showering flowers of appreciation with pure minds on this scion from a minority community," Karunanidhi said in a statement said.
Composer AR Rahman created history by becoming the first Indian to bag two Oscars for his work in British filmmaker Danny Boyle's acclaimed film Slumdog Millionaire.
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Rahman got his first Oscar for best original score for the Mumbai-based rags-to-riches drama. He shared the second Oscar for best original song for the film's theme number Jai Ho with noted Indian lyricist Gulzar.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi too congratulated Rahman and Pookutty.
"I am delighted that AR Rahman and Resul Pookutty have won this year's much coveted Oscars for music and sound editing. I congratulate them," Gandhi said in her message.
She said all the actors, technicians and support staff who had worked in the movie had made India proud.
Rise and shine
The Mumbai-based movie about the unlikely rise of an inconsequential Indian pauper to win India's most popular game show, won an even more remarkable victory when it swept eight Oscars, including the most coveted one of all for Best Picture of the year.
To put that achievement in perspective, the $14-million movie almost didn't get shown in the US, when its original distributor pulled out of the indie film market after deciding that there was no real chance for a film that was half in Hindi to succeed in the US.
Slumdog did what all great art aspires to: it communicated across boundaries of culture, geography, economy and language.
The movie has already earned close to $160 million at the global box office, and the Oscar win will surely boost its earning significantly.
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