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HOLLYWOOD : Rags-to-riches drama "Slumdog Millionaire" was the big winner at the 81st Academy Awards on Sunday, scooping eight of ten awards including best picture, best song and best director for Danny Boyle.
The Mumbai-set love story was the overwhelming favourite for the statuette after recording a virtual clean sweep of awards leading into the Oscars.
Other best picture nominees included "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", "Frost/Nixon", "Milk", and "The Reader".
Earlier, the film's director Boyle, one of British cinema's most influential film-makers, having previously directed a string of low-budget cult classics including "Trainspotting", "Shallow Grave" and "28 Days Later", bounced up the stairs onto the podium to receive his best director award.
"My kids are too old to remember this now but when they were much younger, I swore to them if this miracle ever happened, I would receive it in the spirit of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh," he told the audience.
"You have been so generous to us this evening. Thank you for that. And what a beautiful show you've done."
He also praised all the actors and crew from Mumbai who helped him make the film.
Boyle beat out David Fincher ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"), Stephen Daldry ("The Reader"), Gus Van Sant ("Milk") and Ron Howard ("Frost/Nixon") to win the award.
- CNA/il
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