I am indeed delighted to have this opportunity to watch the Oscar-winning and highly acclaimed film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ with you all today and to felicitate, on this occasion, Shri Gulzar Saheb, Shri A.R. Rahman and Shri Resul Pookutty for their outstanding contributions.

As you all know, based on the adaptation of the book ‘Q&A’ authored by Vikas Swarup, the film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ has been the focus of much international attention in the past one year. Though the film was directed by the British Director Danny Boyle, the story of the film revolves around Mumbai and many Indians have been closely associated with its making, has made it special to all of us. The treatment of the subject in this film is indeed realistic and reminds one of the many kids in India who lead lives like the protagonist in this film but do not always have happy endings.

Slumdog Millionaire’, as we know, is the eighth film in history to take home eight Oscars. This film has also won seven of the eleven awards including the British Academy for Film and Television Arts and four Golden Globe awards. This film has rightly been pronounced as the most entertaining and inspirational movie in 2008.

Today, we are felicitating three eminent personalities from the Indian Film Industry who were closely associated with this film and have been internationally acclaimed for excellence in their fields of activity.

Gulzar Saheb is a multi-faceted personality and needs no introduction to the august gathering. An eminent poet, lyricist and film maker, he has won a number of National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards in various categories. He has been conferred the Padma Bhushan in 2004 for his outstanding contributions in the field of art. He has also been a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2002. He brought laurels for the country by winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song 'Jai Ho' in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.

Shri A.R. Rahman is one of the most outstanding talents of the music industry in India, also one of my favourite artist, has been internationally recognized for his creative genius. Though he has been trained in the Carnatic music, he is known for his fusion of western and Indian classical music in his compositions. His refreshing treatment of ‘Bande Mataram’, that he composed for the Fiftieth Anniversary of our Independence, endeared him to millions of music lovers. A Padmashree awardee, Shri Rahman has been the recipient of numerous national and international awards. For his composition of ‘Jai Ho’ in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, he was given many awards including the Best Original Song at the 2009 Oscars.

Resul Pookutty is a well-known film sound designer, sound editor and mixer. He has been given the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing for the film Slumdog Millionaire.

We are extremely happy to have Gulzar Saheb, Rahman Ji and Pookutty Ji in our midst and to felicitate them today. We take pride in their achievements and wish them all success in their future endeavours.

I compliment the Lok Sabha Secretariat for arranging the screening of the Oscar-winning film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ for the benefit of the Hon’ble Members. I hope, all of you will enjoy watching this film.

Thank you.