India Celebrates ‘Slumdog Millionaire’s’ Oscar Sweep

From slum residents to filmmakers, Indians celebrated as the film Slumdog Millionaire swept eight Oscars and hoped it would bring global recognition to Indian technical talent. There was also jubilation that the Oscar for the best short documentary, won by American filmmaker Megan Mylan, was inspired by an Indian story.

It was perhaps the first time ever that some residents of Mumbai’s sprawling Dharavi slum forgot Monday morning’s grind and watched television to hear what news would emerge from the Oscar ceremony in Los Angeles.

The crowd broke out in lusty cheers each time the film bagged an award, although not many residents of Dharavi were even aware of what exactly the Oscars were.

The heart of the film Slumdog Millionaire – the rags to riches story of a boy from an Indian slum – is based in Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum. Two of the children who act in the film came from Dharavi.

The Oscars received by the movie has triggered a rush of national pride across India, particularly in Mumbai – the city where India’s film industry popularly known as Bollywood is based.

The film has a British director, producer and writer. But most of the actors, crew, and locations are Indian and some won the top recognition in the world of cinema.

Music Director A.R. Rahman took two Oscars. One came for best score. He also shared the Oscar for best song, “Jai Ho” with lyricist Gulzar – also an Indian. Resul Pookutty won an Oscar for best sound mixing.

Cheering fans of music composer A.R. Rahman, who has won many national awards, are confident that the Oscars he has won will give Indian music an international identity. He is already one of world’s best-selling recording artists.

And, filmmakers are optimistic that these Oscars will turn the global spotlight on musicians, technicians and talent from Bollywood.

Bollywood filmmaker Rakeysh Mehra hopes the film will inspire talent to cross borders.

“I hope we see a lot of kind of coming together of various talents from all over the world, a lot of amalgamation and kind of collaborations, whether they are directors or technicians from out west coming here to make Indian stories or whether it is technicians and directors from here going out West to make world stories,” Mehra said.

Although the spotlight remained on Slumdog Millionaire, some people noticed that another Indian story won recognition at the Oscars. American filmmaker Megan Mylan’s short film documentary Smile Pinki is the story of a poor Indian village girl, who was ostracized because of her cleft lip, until surgery organized by a social worker transformed her life by making her a “normal girl”.

Like Slumdog Millionaire it is a story of hope and triumph, rooted in the poverty that is widespread in India. Some critics have complained that such stories reinforce Western stereotypes about India.

But, for much of the country, the Oscar ceremony brought a rush of pride.  Indians have only won two previous Oscars – one in 1982 for costume designer Bhanu Athaiya and a lifetime achievement award in 1992 for filmmaker Satyajit Ray. And, seeing stories about India and many Indians at the center stage of Hollywood’s red carpet were moments to relish.

Obama: ‘I screwed up’ on Daschle appointment

President Barack Obama on Tuesday admitted he made a mistake in handling the nomination of Tom Daschle as his health and human services secretary, saying Daschle’s tax problems sent a message that the politically powerful are treated differently from average people.

Daschle, the former Democratic leader in the U.S. Senate, withdrew earlier Tuesday as news that he failed to pay some taxes in the past continued to stir opposition on Capitol Hill.

“I think I screwed up,” Obama said in a wide-ranging interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

“And I take responsibility for it and we’re going to make sure we fix it so it doesn’t happen again.”

Daschle had apologized Monday for what he said were honest mistakes, calling them an embarrassment. The series of errors included improperly reporting $15,000 in charitable donations, failing to list $80,000 in lobbying income due to what Daschle said was a paperwork error, and not reporting as income a car and driver loaned to him by a friend and business associate.

Daschle recently filed amended tax returns and paid more than $140,000 in back taxes and interest for 2005 to 2007.

Those tax issues, as well as questions over whether work he did after his stint in the Senate amounted to lobbying, gave critics ammunition to question Obama’s call for a change of culture in Washington.

“Ultimately, I campaigned on changing Washington and bottom-up politics,” Obama said. “And I don’t want to send a message to the American people that there are two sets of standards — one for powerful people and one for ordinary folks who are working every day and paying their taxes.” Obama defended Daschle’s original appointment, saying “nobody was better-equipped to deal both with the substance and policy of health care.”

“He understands it as well as anybody, but also the politics, which is going to be required to actually get it done,” Obama said.

Earlier, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs insisted Daschle’s decision to withdraw was made on his own, not as a result of any prodding from the administration.

In a written statement, Daschle’s acknowledged the political problem he had created for the administration. Still, Obama insisted the mistake

Obama also said he’s going to crack down on businesses using taxpayer money to excessively pay executives. He plans a Wednesday announcement of mechanisms to keep that from happening.

“I’m going to be talking about executive compensation and changes we’re going to be making there,” he said. “We’ve now learned that people are still getting huge bonuses despite the fact that they’re getting taxpayer money, which I think infuriates the public.”

The president also spoke about the struggling economy, the use of the label “war on terror,” and lighter topics, including the family dog and his efforts to stop smoking.

Thinking about the nation’s faltering economy  keeps him up at night, Obama said. He also addressed criticism that there is too much spending in the current stimulus package bill written by House Democrats.

Look, the only measure of my success as president when people look back five years from now or nine years from now is going to be, did I get this economy fixed. I have no interest in promoting a package that doesn’t work,” obama said.

Cooper also asked Obama about reports that he is not using former President Bush’s phrase, “war on terror,” to refer to the wars in Iraq in Afghanistan.

“Words matter in this situation because one of the ways we’re going to win this struggle is through the battle of hearts and minds,” Obama said. “I think it is very important for us to recognize that we have a battle or a war against some terrorist organizations, but that those organizations aren’t representative of a broader Arab community, Muslim community

Moving on to lighter topics, the president said the first family hasn’t decided what type of dog to get, but will wait until spring.

Obama, an intermittent smoker, also said he has not smoked on the White House grounds.

“Sometimes it’s hard. But, you know, I’m sticking to it,” Obama said

Asked about the greatest lesson he’d learned about the presidency from studying about Abraham Lincoln, Obama said:

“You know, when I think about Abraham Lincoln, what I’m struck by is the fact that he constantly learned on the job. He got better. You know, he wasn’t defensive. He wasn’t arrogant about his tasks. He was very systematic in saying, ‘I’m going to master the job, and I understand it’s going to take some time.

Mumbai Rocked by Deadly attacks by Terrorists

Gunmen have carried out a series of co-ordinated attacks across the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay), killing 150 people and injuring 358 more.

At least seven high-profile locations were hit in India’s financial capital, including two luxury hotels where dozens of hostages are being held.

The buildings are now ringed by troops. Gunmen are also said to be holding people captive in an office block.

Police say four suspected terrorists have been killed and nine arrested.

As day broke in Mumbai, the situation on the ground was still confused with reports of gunfire and explosions at between seven and 16 locations.

The city’s main commuter train station, a hospital, a restaurant and two hotels – locations used by foreigners as well as local businessmen and leaders – were among those places caught up in the violence.

Commandos have surrounded the two hotels, the Taj Mahal Palace and the Oberoi Trident, where it is believed that the armed men are holding dozens of hostages.

In other developments:

• Fire crews evacuate people from the upper floors of the Taj Mahal Palace, where police say a grenade attack caused a blaze

• The head of Mumbai’s anti-terrorism unit and two other senior officers are among those killed, officials say

• The White House holds a meeting of top intelligence and counter-terrorism officials, and pledges to help the Indian government

• Trading on India’s Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange markets will remain closed on Thursday, officials say.

see detailed map here

Gunmen opened fire at about 2300 local time (1730 GMT) on Wednesday at the sites in southern Mumbai.

The terrorists have used automatic weapons and in some places grenades have been lobbed,” said AN Roy, police commissioner of Maharashtra state.

Local TV images showed blood-splattered streets, and bodies being taken into ambulances.

One eyewitness told the BBC he had seen a gunman opening fire in the Taj Mahal’s lobby.

“We all moved through the lobby in the opposite direction and another gunman then appeared towards where we were moving and he started firing immediately in our direction.”

One British tourist said she spent six hours barricaded in the Oberoi hotel.

“There were about 20 or 30 people in each room. The doors were locked very quickly, the lights turned off, and everybody just lay very still on the floor,” she said.

A BBC correspondent outside the landmark Taj Mahal Palace said there were gunshots between police and the armed men, and that 11 officers were killed in the skirmishes.

Eyewitness reports suggest the attackers singled out British and American passport holders.

If the reports are true, our security correspondent Frank Gardner says it implies an Islamist motive – attacks inspired or co-ordinated by al-Qaeda.

A claim of responsibility has been made by a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen.

Our correspondent says it could be a hoax or assumed name for another group.

The motive is far from clear – but the attacks come amid elections in several Indian states, including in disputed Kashmir.

On Thursday, reports said five gunmen had taken hostages in an office block in the financial district of Mumbai.

There has been a wave of bombings in Indian cities in recent months which has left scores of people dead.

Most of the attacks have been blamed on Muslim militants, although police have also arrested suspected Hindu extremists.

Mumbai itself has also been attacked in the past: in July 2006 a series of bomb attacks on busy commuter trains killed almost 190 people and injured more than 700.

Police accused Pakistan’s intelligence agency of planning those attacks, which they said were carried out by an Islamist militant group, Lashkar-e-Toiba.

Pakistan rejected the allegation, saying there was no evidence that its intelligence staff were involved.

But the latest shootings come at a time when ties between India and Pakistan have improved.

Just days ago Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari told a summit in Delhi that Pakistan would not be first to carry out a missile strike on India.

The two countries have a joint anti-terror mechanism whereby they are supposed to share information on terrorist attacks.

BOMB ATTACKS IN INDIA IN 2008

• 30 October: Explosions kill at least 64 in north-eastern Assam
• 30 September: Blasts in western India kill at least seven
• 27 September: Bomb blasts kills one in Delhi
• 13 September: Five bomb blasts kill 18 in Delhi
• 26 July: At least 22 small bombs kill 49 in Ahmedabad
• 25 July: Seven bombs go off in Bangalore killing two people
• 13 May: Seven bomb hit markets and crowded streets in Jaipur killing 63

Help Line

DEAR ALL,

In case you come across any suspicious activity, any suspicious movement or have any information to tell to the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS), please take a

note of the new ALL INDIA TOLL-FREE Terror Help-line “1090″.

Your city’s Police or Anti-Terror squad will take action as quickly as possible.

Remember that this single number 1090 is valid all over India This is a toll free number and can be dialed from mobile phones also.

Moreover, the identity of the caller will be kept a secret. Let us make each and every citizen of India aware about this facility.

Please copy this and forward this through mail to as many people as possible, and tell everyone individually also.