Pinki smiles at Oscars

It is yet another day at Rampur Dibai village in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh. There is the usual drone of tractors working in the fields, the barking of stray dogs and the bustle of a windy morning in the tiny hamlet.

Suddenly crews of various news television channels begin to converge at the home of Rajendra Sonkar in the village.

Sonkar and his daughter Pinki are away in Los Angeles, where a 39 minute documentary Smile Pinki, made by filmmaker Megan Mylan, won the best documentary.

Pinki’s mother Nirmala Devi, aka Shimla Devi, is looking befuddled. “How does it feel to win the Oscar?” asks a TV reporter. She replies: “Jeetne par to achcha hi laga.”

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Rahmania grips Oscars

The cast and crew of Slumdog Millionaire celebrated their 10 Oscar nominations at the film’s India premiere in Mumbai on Thursday night. At a star-studded red carpet event, as congratulations poured in, they broke into an impromptu bhangra session to toast the achievement.

While most of the cast was in Mumbai, music director A.R. Rahman, who bagged three nominations, was away in Chennai working on the film Delhi 6.

When contacted, an excited Rahman shouted over the phone: “I am on top of the world. I don’t have words to describe how I feel. I am choking with joy. I believe the love and prayers of millions of Indians made it possible. It’s a dream come true.”

“It is unbelievable! I think our chances are very bright, I feel the world is going to change for good.” Director Danny Boyle said he was “proud” of the film and saluted the city it is based in.

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Waiting for the big O

If there’s one Indian in recent times whose work has seemed destined to win an Oscar, it is A.R. Rahman, 42, born A.S. Dileep Kumar and surrounded by music from the day he was born.

His father is the late R. Shekhar, a music composer for Malayalam films. In the 1970s, the family converted to Islam — and Allah Rakha Rahman was born.

Reinvention has been a key motif in Rahman’s artistry, from an Airtel tune to theatre and movies, both masala and international.

The last including, of course, Slumdog Millionaire.

Now that a Golden Globe tops a clutch of other international awards for Slumdog…, Rahman is poised just short of the big O, the world’s most recognised symbol of cinematic excellence.

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