2 Oscars for Rahman, 8 for Slumdog

Just In:Wall-E bags Oscar for best animated film.

- Sean Penn wins best actor Oscar for 'Milk'

- Danny Boyle triumphs at Oscars with best director award.

- Slumdog Millionaire wins best film award.

- Slumdog wins 8 Oscar awards so far.

- Rahman has become the first Indian composer to scoop two Oscars for his music in Slumdog Milllionaire. He got his first Oscar for Best Original Score and second for Best Original Song.

Los Angeles, Feb 23: Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire won five Oscars so far. Slumdog is on its way to sweeping the Oscars. The first award for the film was for Simon Beaufoy for Best Adapted Screenplay. Anthony Dod Mantle won the second award for Slumdog Millionaire in the Best Cinematography category. A R Rahman won best original score for the movie

Resul Pookutty won the Oscars for the best sound mixing. Slumdog also bagged award for editing as well. Slumdog, an often dark but ultimately hopeful tale about a poor Indian boy who competes for love and money on a TV game show, was the frontrunner for best film coming into the Oscars and received 10 nominations in various categories.

One more feather in the cap is , Smile Pinki, a 39-minute short film in Hindi and Bhojpuri, directed by Emmy-nominated producer Megan Mylan won the best documentary short subject Oscar.

Penelope Cruz won her first Oscar on Monday, Feb 23 for best supporting actress for her role as a painter in Vicky Cristina Barcelona."I dedicate this to all the actors from my country," Cruz said in Spanish as she accepted the award.

As the ceremony began, host Hugh Jackman put the show in full musical mode with an opening routine that drew a standing ovation from the star-studded crowd that included nominees Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Mickey Rourke and Anne Hathaway.

There are five more categories in which it is nominated including Best Picture and Best Director

Winslet wins best-actress Oscar for 'Reader'

LOS ANGELES – Kate Winslet has won the best-actress Academy Award for the Holocaust-themed drama "The Reader," while best-picture favorite "Slumdog Millionaire" has cruised to seven Oscars, including best director for Danny Boyle.

A five-time loser at the Oscars previously, Winslet triumphed for her role as a former concentration camp guard in an affair with a teenager.

Heath Ledger is the supporting-actor winner for his demented reinvention of Batman villain the Joker in "The Dark Knight," becoming only the second actor ever to win an Oscar posthumously.

The supporting-actress trophy has gone to Penelope Cruz as a tempestuous artist in Woody Allen's Spanish romance "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

The evening is following the script of earlier Hollywood honors, with "Slumdog Millionaire" steamrolling through. Its awards include adapted screenplay, cinematography and both music awards, for score and song.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kate Winslet has won the best-actress Academy Award for the Holocaust-themed drama "The Reader," while best-picture favorite "Slumdog Millionaire" has cruised to seven Oscars, including best director for Danny Boyle.

A five-time loser at the Oscars previously, Winslet triumphed for her role as a former concentration camp guard in an affair with a teenager.

Heath Ledger is the supporting-actor winner for his demented reinvention of Batman villain the Joker in "The Dark Knight," becoming only the second actor ever to win an Oscar posthumously.

The supporting-actress trophy has gone to Penelope Cruz as a tempestuous artist in Woody Allen's Spanish romance "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

The evening is following the script of earlier Hollywood honors, with "Slumdog Millionaire" steamrolling through. Its awards include adapted screenplay, cinematography and both music awards, for score and song.

Jessica Alba named Worst Actress Of The Year

Jessica Alba has been named worst Latino actress of the past 12 months in a pre-Oscars online awards announcement.

The stunner landed two gongs at Latina.com's second annual Lazzie Awards -- one for acting for "everything she was in last year" and one for her flop 2008 film The Love Guru, reports Contactmusic.

Mexican star Diego Luna was named the worst Latino actor for his role in Milk.

Also among the Lazzie dishonours are Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem (Ickiest Onscreen Chemistry), Eva Mendes (The Setting Us Back Award for Negative Stereotyping in a Movie) and Victor Rasuk, whose Spanish speaking skills in Che earned him the 'No Espeak Espanish' award.

Oprah wants to hear from YOU!

Attention, Oprah Winfrey fans: Now's your chance!

India has always occupied a special place in Ms Winfrey's heart. And now, the daytime talk-show host icon, whose programme is watched the world over, wants to hear your story, literally!

A new section on the Oprah web site, titled 'Share your Story', is asking specifically for Indian women and their tales.

The advert reads:

'Are you a woman living in India who watches The Oprah Winfrey Show? Has the show affected you, or made you think differently about your life? Did you see a specific story or subject on The Oprah Show that impacted your life?

The Oprah Winfrey Show is looking for women living in India whose lives have been changed by watching the show. Please share your story with us.'

After that, a form that asks personal details and provides a space for you to tell your story.

Don't look now, but it seems America is fast becoming a land of Indophiles!

Rahman: The rise of the underdog

Hollywood's bigwigs let out a collective twitter of nervous laughter when A R Rahman took the stage for his Golden Globe win. It was probably because they couldn't wrap their tongue around his name, mispronouncing it no less than three times but the humble maestro, gracious as always, acknowledged his surprise and gratitude at receiving the award by thanking the Slumdog Millionaire eam and India's billion strong.

Rahman has had a predictably busy year working on Ghajini and Yuvvraaj's soundtracks among others and completed the masterly record in very little time. The movie, accused of packaging romanticised poverty to First World audiences that are equally guilty of lapping it up, is rich in its eclectic score. Glocal vibes have him collaborating with M.i.A., Gulzar Ila Arun, Alka Yagnik , Suzzanne D'Mello, known for her Western approach to singing and rap artist Blaaze. Compelling is the story and the hat screenwriter Simon Beaufoy wants to make a musical of it.

The movie about a boy from the slums who wins a fortune on India's version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? launched many faces but it brought Rahman the international recognition he so deserved. The musician's first success came with Mani Ratnam's Roja which even made Time magazine's list of 100 best movie compilations in the world. Tunes stand out for their longevity. In an industry that's sometimes stifled by the demands of playback music, Rahman's syncopations have managed to go off the beaten track and garnered both critical and popular acclaim.

It isn't hard to believe that two of the artiste's most appreciated soundtracks in recent times come from underdog movies Guru and Slumdog Millionaire. Young Rahman had a musically rich upbringing, but after his composer father R K Shekhar's premature death, the family had to rent out instruments to make ends meet and the maverick ventured into music making himself.

"It's a very strange thing... actually going back to my childhood story. I experienced most of the disappointments in my life at that time. So whatever happens now, suspect that hope, always suspect that happiness. And even that moment of happiness doesn't exist because am waiting for how it's going to fool me and give me a kick again."

'This is the first Indian movie with full kung fu action'

Before Akshay Kumar's new film Chandni Chowk to China releases in India on January 16, the film will travel all over the world, with premieres in New York and Toronto among other cities.

The film's Toronto promoter is businessman Ajay Virmani, one of the superstar's closest friends.

In an exclusive interview with rediff.com'S Ajit Jain, Akshay explains that his roots are in the crowded lanes of Delhi's Chandni Chowk, where parts of the film were shot.

Is Chandni Chowk to China based on your life?

It is loosely based on my journey from a zero to a hero -- a journey of hard work, struggle and ultimately, achieving my goals and realising my dreams.

You will love Sidhu. He is a lot like me. I too had to fight villains all my life.