Rahman's win gives B'wood reason to celebrate

New Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS) Indian music maestro A.R. Rahman's wife used to wake up in the middle of the night and say "I want you to win an Oscar". Now he has won two. It's not only her dream that has turned into reality at the 81st annual Academy Awards, it's a milestone for Bollywood too.

Bollywood celebrated as Rahman bagged the Oscars for best original score in "Slumdog Millionaire" and its theme song "Jai Ho".

Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap is all praises for the singer-composer. He said: "This is a happy moment for all of us. We all should celebrate because he (Rahman) has made us proud. Finally we did it!

Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who has worked with Rahman for his films "Rang De Basanti" and "Delhi-6", says the singer-composer truly deserved the award.

"I am proud and so happy that it's A.R. He brought north and south India together when he started composing music and now he has successfully bridged the gap between the east and the west. It's incredible! There are more people in the west who know him now than they know about his work," Mehra told IANS.

Rahman, the first Indian musician to win the annual Academy Award, was listed for three of the film's ten Oscar nominations - one for his original score and two others for songs composed by him, "O Saya" and "Jai Ho".

According to singer Mohit Chauhan who has sung in Rahman's latest hit composition "Masakalli" from "Delhi-6", this Oscar win is an inspiration for the Indian music industry.

"It is very encouraging. Rahman is a great inspiration for all the musicians in the country. And it's a great honour also. Our films are going places and so is our music. We can look ahead to good times," said Chauhan.

Veteran filmmaker and critic Aziz Mirza says: "The international recognition that Rahman has earned for himself makes every Indian proud. He deserves it more than anybody else for his wholehearted dedication to music. It's a rare honour. I congratulate Rahman."

Southern actor R. Madhavan feels Rahman should have won an Oscar the very first time he composed music because he truly deserves it.

Actress Divya Dutta hails the composer and says she is extremely proud of his win.

"Like every Indian, I am very happy about the win. I was sure Rahman will come back with the award. The film was amazing," said Dutta.

Before this, only two Indians have won the Oscar in its 80 year history - Satyajit Ray was given the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992 and Bhanu Athaiya won the best costume design Oscar along with John Mollo for the 1982 film "Gandhi."

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