Oscar to draw global attention to our cinema

Mumbai, Feb 23 (IANS) Well-known lyricist Javed Akhtar says that he is not surprised by fellow writer Gulzar, technician Resul Pookutty and Indian music maestro A.R. Rahman's win at the Oscars. He says their success will bring global attention to Indian cinema.

"I'm not surprised by A.R. Rahman, Gulzar and Resul Pookutty bagging the honour. In fact, I quite expected Gulzar saab to win the Oscar and like all Indians, feel immensely proud and happy with their unprecedented achievement," Javed Akhtar told IANS.

Rahman bagged two golden statuettes - one for his original score in "Slumdog Millionaire" and the other for the original song "Jai ho" which he shared with lyricist Gulzar. Pookutty bagged the Oscar for sound mixing in British director Danny Boyle's rags-to-riches drama that swept eight of the Oscars at the 81st Academy Awards Sunday.

"Rahman is an acknowledged international talent and the Oscar will draw the world's attention to his music and Indian movies as a whole," Javed Akhtar said.

Talking about Pookutty, the veteran said: "Resul Pookutty's bagging the award symbolises that even technically India is at par with the rest of the world.

"Now that international awards have started coming to India, I am confident it will bring international show business also to India in a big way."

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