'Slumdog Millionaire' sweeps BAFTA with Rahman & Pookutty

London-  It was a 'Slumdog Millionaire' night, winning BAFTA for Best Picture, Danny Boyle (best director), AR Rahman (best music), Resul Pookutty, Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke (sound), Anthony Dod Mantle (cinematography), Simon Beaufoy (Best adapted screenplay) and Chris Dickens (editing). Made with a small budget, $15 million, Julia Robert's fee for a single film, 'Slumdog Millionaire' is turning out to be the most predictable winner at all major film awards, writes Pervaiz Alam from London.

Now, the world awaits the Oscars. The chances are pretty good. With seven BAFTA under his belt, Danny Boyle thanked the Mumbai kids while Rahman expressed his gratitude towards those who believed in him, including film director Shekhar Kapur. Kate Winslet, who was nominated twice for best actress, won for her role in “The Reader,” about a German teenager whose lover is an older woman with a dark past. Finally, she was able to make a speech. The judges rated Winslet’s performance above those of Angelina Jolie in “Changeling,” Kristin Scott Thomas in “I’ve Loved You So Long,” and Meryl Streep in “Doubt.”

Mickey Rourke shouted F word thrice and carried the best-actor award for his role as the comeback fighter in “The Wrestler.” He beat Frank Langella (“Frost/Nixon”), Dev Patel (“Slumdog Millionaire”), Sean Penn (“Milk”), and Brad Pitt (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”).

TV star Jonathan Ross hosted the ceremony. A host of stars, including Meryl Streep, Sharon Stone, Kristin Scott Thomas, Kate Winslet, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Penélope Cruz, Mickey Rourke and Ron Howard, were present at the British Academy Film Awards' venue, Royal Opera House in London. Rahman, wearing a black bundh gala, was seen sitting with London-based film producer Mohan Chopra.

'Slumdog Millionaire' won best adapted screenplay at the Writers Guild of America for writer Simon Beaufoy. The original novel has been written by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup. It also won top awards from the other major Hollywood guilds including best director for Danny Boyle, from the Directors Guild of America. The Producers Guild of America named it best movie and the Screen Actors Guild named the best ensemble cast.

Oscar nominations

For the 81st Academy Awards (Oscars), Slumdog Millionaire with 10 nominations, inluding best picture and best composer for AR Rahman, will fight it out against 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' which has received 13 nominations. However, Benjamin's chances are slim says a London-based film critic Suniti Singh. "It's one of the most pretentious films I have seen this year," says Ms Singh.

The Oscar nominations with an Indian connection for Slumdog are Best Original Score (A R Rahman), Best Song (Jai Ho written by Gulzar) and Best Sound Mixing (Resul Pookutty with Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke).

Earlier, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE had won four prestigious Golden Globes, including one for AR Rahman.

Bookmakers had made Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire' favourite to win the prestigious best film award. Punters were so convinced that film's odds had been slashed to a derisory 1-6.

Kate Winslet was not only favourite to win in the Leading Actress category for The Reader (8-11) but also second favourite for Revolutionary Road (2-1), according to Bookies.

The rags-to-riches film, set in the Bollywood capital of India, Mumbai or Bombay, got 11 nominations, as was Pitt's effects-packed fantasy 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'. Other films in contention included 'Mamma Mia', which had been nominated for Best British movie, and 'Milk' and 'The Reader,' both of which were battling it out for Best Film.

Sony Entertainment Television (Set) India (now Multi Screen Media) has bought the satellite rights of 'Slumdog Millionaire' and its Hindi version 'Slumdog Crorepati' from Fox Star Studios.

AR Rahman

The film divided the Indian middle classes as some of them showed their embarrassment and displeasure over the portrayal of sheer poverty in the film. Over all, India accepted the film with a lot of warmth. Thousands of fans turned up to welcome country's 'genius' composer AR Rahman in his home town Chennai after his accomplishments at Golden Globe. The NDTV report of the same reception became one of the most popular packages on You Tube.

At BAFTA, A.R. Rahman competed against the world's best, and 'Mamma Mia' of Abba fame.  And, finally won!

* THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Alexandre Desplat
* THE DARK KNIGHT – Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard
* MAMMA MIA! – Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
* SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – A. R. Rahman
* WALL•E – Thomas Newman

Resul Pookutty

Winning BAFTA for Best Sound Mixing Oscar (Slumdog...) along with Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty, 36, comes from the 'God's own country' Kerala in the southern India. Born in a small village Vilakkupara, near Anchal in Kollam district, 80 km away from the capital of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Resul is the youngest among the eight children of Mr. Pookutty and his wife Nabiza Beevi, according to India Today magazine.

A 1995 graduate from Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, Resul has done sound for a number of Bollywood films such as Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black, Ghajini, Musafir, Saawariya, Gandhi My Father, Dus Kahaniyaan, Traffic Signal, Zinda and his debut film Private Detective.

Pookutty, now a celebrity in Kerala, lives in Mumbai with his wife and two children.

BAFTA Fellowship

Last year, actor Anthony Hopkins was awarded the academy fellowship. This year, the Academy Fellowship recognised an outstanding contribution to film and Terry Gilliam’s creative passion and visionary body of work marks him out as one of the great filmmakers of the past 30 years.

Foreign Film Category and India

French ' I have loved you so long' was the winner this year. 

2009: Ashutosh Gowariker's 'Jodha Akbar' was India's entry for the Best Foreign Film category but the film could not even be shortlisted among the nominees. 

2007: Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra’s blockbuster Rang De Basanti did really well when it was finally nominated for BAFTA. The Aamir Khan-starrer joined Pan’s Labyrinth, Volver and Black Book (Zwartboek) in the category. But it lost out to 'El Laberinto del fauno / Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)'.

Last word about BAFTA statue

The iconic BAFTA mask was designed in 1955 by US sculptor Mitzi Cunliffe and has become an internationally-recognised symbol of excellence in the art forms of the moving image.