Rubina and Azharuddin, the child stars of Slumdog Millionaire , are set to sashay down the ramp for designer duo Ashima-Leena at the Wills India Fashion Week beginning in New Delhi next week.

"As we watched these two beautiful children Rubina and Azhar, bringing the rare honour to our country, our hearts melted with emotions with the thought of their getting back to the slums after all the fame and glory they enjoyed," designer Leena Singh is quoted as saying by a news agency.

The capital-based designers, who have been doing solo shows with the WIFW since its inception in 2000, have not had any celebrity endorsements so far.

"We are a very business oriented brand and have always believed that our clothes are the stars. But the thought of these two innocent children touched our hearts returning to the slums. We really felt very bad and decided to do something for them which will make them keep going in life," says the designer.

Both Rubina and Azharuddin who starred as the young Latika and Jamal in the eight Oscar winning film "Slumdog Millionaire" will be wearing outfits specially designed by Ashima Singh.

"Ashima is just finishing up the designs for the children. They will be wearing clothes that have a very global look," Leena told the agency.

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Bollywood Actress

The child actors of Slumdog Millionaire received a grand welcome when they arrived at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on Thursday morning. Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Mohammed Azharuddin, Rubina Ali, Tanay Chedda, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, Tanvi Lonkar and Madhur Mittal were greeted with cheers and garlands, as their relatives waited eagerly on the sidelines to receive them.

In the picture: Ayush Khedekar, Tanay Chheda and Rubina Ali in the airport.

Rubina Ali’s father Rafique Qureshi, a slum dweller, came with a dozen relatives to receive his daughter. "I am so glad to be here. I’m proud of my daughter. She has made our country proud. Jai Ho!" Rafique said excitedly. "Our niece has not only become famous in our slums but she’s become world famous," added Rubina’s uncle Dilshad Mohammad Khan, who had accompanied Rubina to Los Angeles.

In the picture: Rubina Ali’s father Rafique Qureshi with his daughter.

A large crowd had assembled to welcome the children. A fleet of cars, including Mercedes Benz, waited for each child, who was then taken to their respective homes. Azharuddin ’s father, Mohammad Ismail said, "We have arranged for music and garlands. The preparation has been going on since last night. It’s going to be party time now." Mohammed Ismail sounded cheerful despite the fact that he is suffering from tuberculosis. Even the fact that his economic condition has not improved has not lessened his happiness. I hope the government gives us a flat, so that I can spend the rest of my life decently," he said.The Maharashtra Housing Development Authority had requested Chief Minister Ashok Chavan to allocate two flats to slum-dwellers Rubina and Azharuddin, who acted in Slumdog Millionaire, but Chavan turned down the request.

In the picture: Mohammed Azharuddin.

Prabha Chheda, Tanay’s grandmother, arrived at the airport with a ’Welcome Tanay’ banner. "I am so happy to see my child back," she gushed. "I made this banner especially to welcome him."

"We had a great party time," said Madhur Mittal, adding, "I cannot express my happiness in words." So how will he celebrate the big win? "Party even more! I am still living this dream," he says. "I loved the entire experience. The best part was Disney Land!" Ayush says. "I loved that place."

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Rahman , who came onstage again to accept the award for Jai Ho, he said, "All my life I had the option of choosing love or hate. I chose love so here I am."

"My kids are too old to remember this now, but when they were much younger, I swore to them that if this miracle ever happened that I would recede into the character of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh," Danny Boyle said jumping up and down, after winning the best director Academy Award for Slumdog Millionaire. Boyle also thanked the city of Mumbai. "You dwarf even this guy," he said pointing to the Oscar statuette.

"Art is the universal language! Has anybody ever fainted here? Because I might be the first one," Penelope Cruz said accepting the award for the Best Supporting Actress. This was the first award of the evening. Cruz also thanked Woody Allen for ’trusting me with this beautiful character. Thank you for having written all these years some of the greatest characters for women."

"OK, that fainting thing, Penelope," Kate Winslet joked later as she accepted her best-actress prize for The Reader, in which she plays a former concentration camp guard who has an affair with a teen. "I’d be lying if I haven’t made a version of this speech before. I think I was probably eight years old and staring into the bathroom mirror, and this would be a shampoo bottle. But it’s not a shampoo bottle now."

"You commie homo-loving sons of a guns! I did not expect this, and I want it to be very clear that I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me, often, but I am touched by the appreciation." Sean Penn said while accepting his Best Actor award for his role in Milk.Penn added, "For those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think it’s a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect on their great shame and their shame in their grandchildren’s eyes if they continue that support. We’ve got to have equal rights for everyone."

An overwhelmed Resul Pookutty while accepting award for best sound mixing said, "I come form a country that gave the word ’OM’ to the world."

Slumdog Millionaire Producer Christian Colson while accepting the award for Best Picture said, "(This was possible) for our shared love for the extraordinary city of Mumbai. When we started out, we had no stars, we had no power or muscle, we didn’t have enough money really to do what we wanted to do. But what we had was a script that inspired mad love in everyone who read it. Most of all, we had passion and we had belief and our film shows that if you have those two things, truly anything is possible."

Simon Beaufoy dedicated the award for the best adapted screenplay to ’Danny and Christian, the other two musketeers’. Oddly though the other person he named in his speech was ’the beautiful Latika’. Wonder if he’d forgotten Freida Pinto’s name or he actually meant the character.

Megan Mylan, the director of Smile Pinki thanked the protagonist of her award-winning documentary. "Thank you Pinki Kumar for letting me tell your story," she said.

Heath Ledger’s sister spoke for many people present in the audience when she said, "Wish you were here!"Ledger’s father added, "I have to say this is ever so humbling, just being amongst such wonderful people in such a wonderful industry. We’d like to thank the academy for recognising our son’s amazing work, Warner Bros. and Christopher Nolan in particular for allowing Heath the creative license to develop and explore this crazy Joker character."The two, along with his mother accepted Ledger’s award for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Dustin Lance Black, winner best original screenplay for Milk said, "Thank you mom for loving me for who I am. Thank you god for giving us Milk."

Jochen Alexander Freydank winner of Live Action Short Spielzeugland said, "I spent four years of my life for this 14-minute movie."

"Due to cutbacks, the Academy said they didn’t have enough money for an opening number," Hugh Jackman declared. "I’m going to do one anyway." Jackman who hosted the evening held the audiences in splits with his wisecracks.He opened the evening saying, "Kate Winslet, British, plays a German in The Reader – nominated. Robert Downey Jr., American, plays an Australian who is playing an African-American in Tropic Thunder – nominated. Whereas I am Australian playing an Australian in a movie called Australia – hosting!"

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People in Chennai, the home city of A R Rahman , are ecstatic over the homeboy’s clean sweep at the Oscars.

Youths, kids, old men and women and even the folks who aren’t film buffs are joyous with Rahman’s winning of two Oscars on the Academy night in Los Angeles. As soon as Rahman was declared the winner (around morning time in Chennai) fans came out on the streets and celebrated Rahman’s win by cutting cakes, distributing sweets and bursting crackers.

Family members of Rahman and his fans cut a huge cake right in the middle of the street opposite his house in the Kodambakkam area and burst ‘10,000 wala’ crackers.Students of several city colleges also joined the celebrations distributing sweets while the film fraternity, including singers, hailed his achievement.

Similar scenes of celebrations were witnessed at the house of Rahman’s sister AR Rehana in nearby Virugambakkam area. "We were just waiting for his name to be announced. I was praying to God at that time," an elated Rehana said. "I always wanted him to talk in Tamil after receiving the award and that is the way he spoke; I am happy about it," she said overwhelmed by joy.

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Indian music wizard A R Rahman is set to perform with American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock later this month in Chennai.Hancock, who "absolutely loves" the music of the Oscar-nominated film Slumdog Millionaire is looking forward to jam up with Rahman after the latter returns from the upcoming Oscar ceremony, presumably with a golden man or two.

Hancock is part of the official US delegation accompanying Martin Luther King III on an 11-day tour of India. He would perform on a special composition by Rahman on the theme of non-violence. "I absolutely loved the music of ’Slumdog’. It combines the influence of several cultures," Hancock said. Although the Chicago-based piano legend has not seen the film he said he is looking forward to performing with Rahman in Chennai scheduled on February 24.

Hancock, accompanied by vocalist-actor Dee Dee Bridgewaters and diva singer Chaka Khan and keyboard player George Duke on his India tour, said, "The spirit of music is firebrand and amazing. More and more artists and musicians are now crossing invisible boundaries of countries and continents and becoming cultural ambassadors."

The 12-time Grammy winner who was greeted with resounding applause after his performance of the "Living Dream" concert in the capital said, "We are here to celebrate peace and music is all about bringing people together."

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Subhash Ghai’s YUVVRAAJ has just garnered the most prestigious honour from the Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for including YUVVRAAJ as a part of the Oscar Library. The script will be part of the core collection which is made available for film makers, writers, actors and students worldwide for their research work.

The merits of this selection are not based on box office performance of the film but mainly on the artistic merits, original screenplay with a substance and the film as a whole.

’’Of course the selection of the script of YUVVRAAJ came as a surprise to me but surely an honour which no one can deny. Let’s say it is my consolation prize of my hard work.’’ said a smiling Subhash Ghai

The screenplay of YUVVRAAJ has been jointly written by Subhash Ghai, Kamlesh Pandey and Sachin Bhowmick, with the story & dialogue by Subhash Ghai with actors Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan , Katrina Kaif and Zayed Khan. The music was composed by A.R Rahman while lyrics are written by Gulzar.

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Aussie songstress Kylie Minogue is set to resurrect her acting career by starring in a Bollywood movie. Minogue has been offered the opportunity to act in the film by the brilliant team behind the critically acclaimed movie Slumdog Millionaire. The singer became involved in the project when she was asked by composer A.R. Rahman , who composed the music for the award-winning film, to write the soundtrack for his next film Blue.

Rahman said that the producers wanted a celebrity and they had a choice of four including Beyonce and a couple of others. This new role will not be the "Wow" singers first venture onto the big screen; she has previously starred in the successful Baz Lurhmann musical Moulin Rouge in 2001.

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We will forever Remember the 66th annual Golden Globes as the ceremony that pushed Indian cinema over the top, albeit indirectly. British director Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, often called his ’Ode to Mumbai’, swept the awards show, winning all four categories in which it was nominated (Best Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Director, Best Motion Picture — Drama).

With Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto and A R Rahman (whose work in Slumdog won Best Original Score), and Shah Rukh Khan introducing the film, it was really and truly an Indian affair.

Let’s take a look at some of the big Globes winners.

Slumdog Millionaire was pit against a star-studded line-up — Brad Pitt’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Kate Winslet-Leonardo DiCaprio’s Revolutionary Road and Philip Seymour Hoffman’s The Reader.

Yet, the underdog film about an underdog gameshow contestant managed to upstage them all.

British Director Danny Boyle — who showed his penchant for grittiness in Trainspotting — took the world into Mumbai’s bustling slums, to tell us the story of one Jamal Malik and the love of his life, Latika.

Though pre-show buzz indicated that Slumdog Millionaire had a great chance at bringing home the trophy, it was almost impossible to believe that this independent film, without a major release, was going to top Titantic juggernauts Winslet and DiCaprio? It did. And all of India celebrated!

In the picture: The cast and crew of the Best Motion Picture – Drama Slumdog Millionaire pose with their Golden Globe Awards.

The old master still has it. Woody Allen, who gave us such hits as Annie Hall, Manhattan, Life and Death and The Purple Rose of Cairo, showed that talent is ageless in this Barcelona-based tale called Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Allen — with Penelope Cruz, Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson as his muses — recaptured his magic with this touching tale.

Many thought the Colin Farrell-starrer In Bruges would win the award, but it wasn’t to be.

In the picture: Producers Stephen Tenenbaum, Letty Aronson and Gareth Wiley pose with their award for Best Motion Picture – Comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona at the Golden Globe Awards.

If anyone had a better night than Danny Boyle, it was Kate Winslet. First, she took home the award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in The Reader. Then, amazingly, she took home ’the big one’ — Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) for her spirited performance in Revolutionary Road.
The competition was stiff, as Angelina Jolie (Changeling) and Meryl Streep (Doubt) were strong contenders. Had Streep emerged victorious, it would have been her seventh Golden Globe. But that wasn’t to be, and Winslet happily scooped up her second award of the night!

In the picture: Kate Winslet holds her awards for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Revolutionary Road and Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for The Reader with husband-director Sam Mendes, who directed Revolutionary Road at the 66th annual Golden Globe awards

What a remarkable journey it has been for Mickey Rourke. The down-n-out ’failed’ actor had given up on a career in Hollywood years ago. Yet, with his passionate and powerful performance in The Wrestler, he resurrected his career and won his first Golden Globe.
Rumour has it that Rourke trained for months as a professional wrestler, just to gain insight into the real world of wrestling. Turns out, all those bumps and bruises he sustained weren’t for nought.

It’s a bit surprising that Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t bring home the award for his work in Revolutionary Road.

In the picture: Mickey Rourke poses with his award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for The Wrestler at 66th Golden Globe Awards.

n a ’normal’ year, the riveting, rollicking Kung Fu Panda would have won the Best Animation Film. But this was no normal year, as the unstoppable Pixar juggernaut rolled out their magnum opus — Wall-E.
Wall-E showed us that we can all learn a little bit about love. Even if it takes a ’soul-less’ robot to stir our hearts.

In the picture: The Jonas Brothers – Kevin Jonas (L), Joe Jonas and Nick Jonas (R) pose with Andrew Stanton (2nd R) who won Best Animated Feature Film Award for Wall-E at 66th Golden Globe Awards.

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A R RAHMAN , the music maestro, created history on Sunday night as he became The first Indian to win the prestigious Golden Globe Award for Best Original Music Score for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire. Rahman’s song ‘Jai Ho,’ penned by lyricist Gulzar, was nominated for Best Original Music Score. India-based story of an underdog, the Danny Boyle-directed Slumdog Millionaire has begun its winning spree, first bagging the award for the Best Screenplay category (Simon Beaufoy) and then for the Best Original Score (A R Rahman).

The Indian connection does not end here. Bollywood’s King Khan, Shah Rukh Khan will present an award at the ceremony. The film is based on a novel by Indian diplomat Vikash Swarup and stars Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor & Irrfan Khan in lead among others.

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Releasing this February 6, ‘Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye’ has an unusual pairing of Raima Sen and Arbaaz Khan. The movie based on extra marital drama has a female director Madhurita.

Talking about her first female director, Arbaaz says, ‘Actually, I already have a female director at home,’ jokes Arbaaz. ‘Malaika thinks she directs my entire life. But seriously, I was very impressed by Madhurita Anand’s mature script about love marriage and adultery. It’s got me and Raima Sen.’

Also starring in a pivotal role is Randeep Hooda, who plays as many as 18 different characters in the film.

Arbaaz also plays the lead with brother Sohail in the home production ‘Kissan’, which Puneet Sira is directing. ‘It’s a rural story and the problems caused by migration. Sohail and I play brothers, and that’s the best part of it… Malaika and I are together though only for an item song in ‘Shaadi Ke Side Effects’. I’m looking forward to doing a full-fledged film with her,’ says Arbaaz.