utkal

Link: http://www.rediff.com/movies/2009/mar/04slumdog-is-number-one-film-worldwide.htm

“The song Jai Ho has become a world anthem,” writer Vikas Swarup whose book Q & A inspired the movie said last week after the Oscars were announced. Old timers recall the title song from Raj Kapoor’s [Images] Awara which became phenomenally popular in the 1950s. But the song immortalised by Mukesh was a sensation, along with the movie, across the Soviet Union and the satellite countries, China, the Arab countries and Turkey.

The Oscar-winning Jai Ho, on the other hand, has become a worldwide phenomenon. Be it Uruguay or Croatia or the Netherlands or France [Images], it is a big draw for the film. It is unlikely anyone walks out before the song ends. Distributors of Slumdog Millionaire in Mexico and several other countries said that the song is becoming popular in the clubs, too.”

“Riding on the waves of post-Oscar fame, Slumdog Millionaire [Images] rose over the weekend to be the number one film across the globe, grossing $27 million, nearly $12.5 million of the total gross came from the United States where it is playing in nearly 3000 movie houses. The worldwide gross for the film now stands at about $210 million.

“The whole world is falling in love with the film,” said Ashok Amritraj, the producer of 100 films in Hollywood. Amritraj who is also a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) that gives out the Oscars [Images].

“People are able to relate to this film across the world. India is not the only country with slums and street children. The fact that this is a very hopeful film, which has fabulous artists from India ranging from Anil Kapoor [Images] to Irrfan Khan [Images], and the lovely newcomers Dev Patel [Images] and Freida Pinto [Images], is also helping it. And let us not forget the fabulous music by A R Rahman [Images].”

The film, which is yet to open in Germany [Images], Sweden, Brazil [Images], China, Japan [Images], South Korea and Taiwan and many other countries, could end its record setting dream run with $300 million.”