slumdog sweeps the OSCARS with eight wins... JAI HO.!!!

It was a triumphant night for British film as Kate Winslet took the best actress Oscar for her role in film The Reader, while British film Slumdog Millionaire swept the board with EIGHT awards this morning.

While another Brit winner, Danny Boyle who took the best director Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, it also won the best picture Oscar,Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing, Best Score and Best Song.

Accepting the Oscar for best director, Boyle, 52, jumped up and down excitedly in front of Hollywood's finest. He explained that it was to honour a pledge he made to his children.Christian Colson accepted the Best Picture Oscar for Slumdog Millionare. Danny Boyle with Rubiana Ali(younger Latika) and Ismail(younger Salim) during the Oscars.

The mother of one of the Slumdog child actors celebrated the film's eight Oscars from her home in an Indian shantytown, where relatives and neighbours had gathered to watch the awards ceremony on television.'I'm so happy that my daughter has won this award and I could see her on stage with such big stars,' said Muni Qureshi, mother of 8-year-old Rubina Ali, who played the young slum kid Latika in the film.

A R Rahman won two Oscars for Best Music(Score)and Best Song with Gulzar.

Resul Pookutty along with Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke won the Oscar for Outstanding Sound Mixing.

Sean Penn won the Oscar for the Best Actor for the movie Milk, Penelope Cruz won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the movie Vicky Christina Barcelona.

The late Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight won him the Best supporting actor Oscar, which was accepted by his parents and sister.Ledger has become only the second performer to be awarded an Oscar posthumously.His father accepted the award on behalf of his daughter Matilda.

The show was presented by Australia actor Hugh Jackman who took part in a stunning dance routine with singer Beyonce.

The Dark Knight Breaks a Billion

The 2008 blockbuster The Dark Knight has surpassed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, Warner Bros. announced late Friday.

According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, the critically acclaimed Caped Crusader sequel—which actually could win eight Academy Awards on Sunday—is now in fourth place on the list of all-time box office grosses, behind only Titanic ($1.84 billion), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($1.12 billion) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($1.07 billion).

The Dark Knight is currently sitting pretty with $1.001 billion, while the fifth-place Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is way back there with $974.7 million.$533.1 million of that billion-plus sum was grossed in U.S. theaters, while $468 million was raked in overseas.

Warner Bros.' news comes along with the announcement that The Dark Knight is also now the top-grossing 2-D IMAX release of all time, with $64.9 million grossed worldwide

Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto 'dumped her secret husband

The star of Slumdog Millionaire has been hiding a secret husband whom she ditched after the film became a hit, it was claimed today.Freida Pinto, 24, is said to have married Rohan Antao at a ceremony in Goa in December 2007 but last month ended their relationship. The couple were previously thought only to have been engaged.

Their relationship appears to have foundered in the wake of Slumdog Millionaire's success. Pinto, who plays the main love interest, was nominated for a Bafta and the film won a Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by a cast.It is claimed that Mr Antao, a Mumbai-based executive, supported Pinto during filming but 'she just stopped calling him' at the time of the Golden Globes this year, according to reports today

"He is completely shocked at being dumped and is heartbroken'' a friend said...The Times of India reported a friend saying''they were deeply in love with each other. Rohan and Freida had decided to keep their marriage a secret till they felt ready to talk about it openly. Even though she has dumped her husband now, he is not the kind who will go out and speak against her."

Her agent in India, Meenakshi Gehani, said last night ''We do not want to comment. However, if she is married then whoever is claiming it should produce a marriage certificate."