'Slumdog's' Golden Oscar Moment Lifts Bollywood
By TheImproper.com
Bollywood emerged triumphant from the Oscars last night (Feb. 22), if not an equal to Hollywood, a very close second after "Slumdog Millionaire" took top honors. The against-all-odds love story about a ragtag group of Indian orphans who struggled to rise above their fetid conditions won best picture.
As expected Kate Winslet won best actress and Sean Penn out did Mickey Rourke for best actor. Penn’s performance in “Milk” was worthy in every respect.
As much as the Academy Awards is a American event, Slumdog and the night’s other foreign winners gave it a truly international flavor. The British film brought the teeming slums of Mumbai to the big screen for a rare and unusual look at life, love and hope when all else is seems impossible. It won eight Oscars in all.
It was a fitting end to the night when jubilant members of the "Slumdog" cast and crew, swarmed onto the stage, including several school children who were plucked from Mumbai's shantytowns to appear in the movie.
British filmmaker Danny Boyle was named best director for the movie. "It is a love story but is heavily disguised," he said. "The spine appears to be the game show but ... there's another story underneath, which is the love story,"
In a night of firsts, Penelope Cruz became the first Spanish actress to win Oscar for her supporting role in the Woody Allen romance "Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”
And for only the second time in Oscar history, Australian actor Heath Ledger, who died last year from an accidental drug overdose, was named best supporting actor posthumously. He won for his role as the Joker in the Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight." Actor Peter Finch is the only other figure to win an Oscar in death for his role in the ‘70s film ”Network.”
Winslet won for her riveting portrayal of a former Nazi prison guard who has an affair with a younger man and is forced to come to terms with her past. Penn played slain San Francisco gay rights leader Harvey Milk in the political drama "Milk.”
Winslet struggled with tears during her acceptance speech. "I would be lying if I said I haven't made a version of this speech before. I think I was probably 8-years-old and staring into the bathroom mirror," she said.
Penn, who won best actor five years ago for his role as a grieving father in "Mystic River," injected some politics into the ceremony, which has often been a stage for Hollywood causes. He condemned passage of California's recent anti-gay marriage statute as a "great shame" during his acceptance speech.
"Slumdog" was filmed for a mere $15 million, and languished without a distributor after financier Warner Independent Pictures, a division of Warner Bros. dropped the film. But Fox Searchlight Pictures picked it up and released it in November. It has grossed nearly $100 million domestically to date.
