Danny Boyle’s much-acclaimed Slumdog Millionaire, which revolves around an 18-year-old orphan Jamal Malik (Patel) in the backdrop of the slums in Mumbai, won eight prestigoius Oscar awards; Best Film, Best Director (Boyle), Best Adapted Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy), Best Original Score and Best Song (A.R. Rahman), Best Cinematography (Anthony Dod Mantle), Best Sound Mixing (Resul Pookutty) and Best Editing at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony held at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony. Megan Mylan’s Smile Pinki, depicting the story of her transformation from a sad outcast to a vibrant 8-year-old with plenty of spunk, also won the Best Documentary award. Director Danny Boyle, 52, bounced up and down in delight as he received his award, telling the audience: “I swore to my children if this miracle ever happened I would receive it in the spirit of Tigger.” A.R. Rahman praised the city which inspired the book, and subsequently the film. He hailed “all the people from Mumbai and the essence of the film, which is about optimism and the power of hope and our lives”. Resul Pookutty, who won for sound mixing, seemed overwhelmed as he accepted his Oscar. “I dedicate this award to my country. Thank you, Academy, this is not just a sound award, this is history being handed over to me,” he said. With Slumdog Millionaire creating history at the Oscars, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the entire team of the film including musician A.R. Rahman have done India proud. The Prime Minister congratulated A R Rahman, Resul Pookutty, Gulzar (lyricist), and entire Slumdog Millionaire team for the success at the Oscars, Prime Minister’s spokesperson said. Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee also congratulated the Slumdog team on bringing laurels to India by winning the Oscars. Meanwhile, coming to other Oscar winners, British actress Kate Winslet won her first Oscar for her leading role in The Reader. American actor Sean Penn won the best actor award for his role as gay rights activist Harvey Milk in Milk, while the late Australian actor Heath Ledger won for best supporting actor for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight. The actor died last year at age 28. Spanish actress Penelope Cruz won the Oscar for best supporting actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The Japanese film Departures won for best foreign language film. And Man on Wire, which follows French performance artist Philippe Petit’s walk across a high wire strung between New York’s Twin Towers, won best documentary feature.