Monday Blues: Lessons from Leonardo DiCaprio & Oscar

He charmed us with his cute chocolate boy looks and stole the sweetheart from the rich abusive bad guy and iconized the kiss on the deck of Titanic and from then on kept on giving us performances that just stood shy of the Oscar but we fans gave it to him anyways. Here today, finally is his moment and this is awesomest time to be in when Leo won the oscar and I watched it live!

Celebrating the Oscar night where finally Leonardo DiCaprio wins the Oscar for best actor in The Revenant. Here is a quick takeaway from Leo and his work.

No matter if accolades come your way or not, keep doing what you love and success is just round the corner. When faced with rejection or failure, move on and put more effort and work harder, smarter and make your way to the top. For as long as you are not on the top, you can keep pushing.

Do just continue to the top but try and be better every single day for it is a new day and come back with more passion, more character, put in more hours, more practice and soon enough you will see the light coming your way. Celebrate hard work and struggle so your success doesn't matter. 

Want to see a real party?

Pic is from here.

The way you look tonight

One of my all time favorite songs :)

There are several versions but the original which won the Academy award in 1936 is here. Isn't the melody awesome?



The lyrics...

Some day, when I'm awfully low,
When the world is cold,
I will feel a glow just thinking of you...
And the way you look tonight.

Yes you're lovely, with your smile so warm
And your cheeks so soft,
There is nothing for me but to love you,
And the way you look tonight.

With each word your tenderness grows,
Tearing my fear apart...
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,
It touches my foolish heart.

Lovely ... Never, ever change.
Keep that breathless charm.
Won't you please arrange it ?
'Cause I love you ... Just the way you look tonight.

Mm, Mm, Mm, Mm,
Just the way you look to-night.

OSCAR 2009 Final List

So here is it. The final list of the nominations and the winners at Oscar Awards 2009.

Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire   (Winner)

Actor
Richard Jenkins in The Visitor
Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn in Milk   (Winner)
Brad Pitt, in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler

Actress
Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie in Changeling
Melissa Leo in Frozen River
Meryl Streep in Doubt
Kate Winslet in The Reader   (Winner)

Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin in Milk
Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt
Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight   (Winner)
Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road

Supporting Actress
Amy Adams in Doubt
Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona   (Winner)
Viola Davis in Doubt
Taraji P Henson in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler

Director
David Fincher in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard in Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant in Milk
Stephen Daldry in The Reader
Danny Boyle in Slumdog Millionaire   (Winner)

Foreign Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex Germany
The Class France
Departures Japan   (Winner)
Revanche Austria
Waltz With Bashir Israel

Adapted Screenplay
Eric Roth and Robin Swicord-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley-Doubt
Peter Morgan-Frost/Nixon
David Hare-The Reader
Simon Beaufoy-Slumdog Millionaire   (Winner)

Original Screenplay
Courtney Hunt-Frozen River
Mike Leigh-Happy-Go-Lucky
Martin McDonagh-In Bruges
Dustin Lance Black- Milk   (Winner)
Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter-WALL-E

Animated Feature Film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E   (Winner)

Art Direction
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button   (Winner)
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

Cinematography
Changeling
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire   (Winner)

Sound Mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire   (Winner)
WALL-E
Wanted.

Sound Editing
The Dark Knight   (Winner)
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted

Original Score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button-Alexandre Desplat
Defiance - James Newton Howard
Milk - Danny Elfman
Slumdog Millionaire- AR Rahman   (Winner)
WALL-E Thomas Newman

Original Song
Down to Earth from WALL-E - Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire- AR Rahman and Gulzar   (Winner)
O Saya from Slumdog Millionaire- AR Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

Costume
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess   (Winner)
Milk
Revolutionary Road

Documentary Feature
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire   (Winner)
Trouble the Water

Documentary (short subject)
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki   (Winner)
The Witness — From the Balcony of Room 306

Film Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire   (Winner)

Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button   (Winner)
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II
The Golden Army

Animated Short Film
La Maison en Petits Cubes   (Winner)
Lavatory — Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up

Live Action Short Film
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)    (Winner)

Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button    (Winner)
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

Wah Rahman

Its official now. Rahman wins 2 oscars for the best score with Jai Ho and sound mixing? from Slumdog Millionnaire. This would bring in a change in the way Indian music is looked at. So Rahman, we are not happy. This is just a beginning. We want more!

Jai ho! in English

Check my attempt at translating Rahman's 'Jai Ho' to English at the end...

Jai ho! jai ho!
aaja aaja jind shamiyane ke tale
aaja jariwale nile aasman ke tale
jai ho! jai ho!

ratti ratti sachi maine jaan gavayi hai
nach nach koylo pe raat bitayi hai
akhiyon ki neend maine phoonko se uda di
neele tare se maine ungli jalayi hai

aaja aaja jind shamiyane ke tale
aaja jariwale nile aasman ke tale

chakh le ha chakh le ye raat shahad hai chakh le
rakh le ha dil hai dil aakhri had hai rakh le
kala kala kajal tera koi kala jadoo hai na

kala kala kajal tera koi kala jadoo hai na

aaja aaja jind shamiyane ke tale
aaja jariwale nile aasman ke tale

jai ho jai ho
jai ho jai ho

kab se ha kab se tu lab pe ruki hai kah de
kah de ha kah de ab aankh jhuki hai kah de
aisi aisi roshan aankhe roshan dono bhi hai hai kya

aaja aaja jind shamiyane ke tale
aaja jariwale nile aasman ke tale

jai ho... jai ho... jai ho... jai ho...

Here it goes (Do suggest if I got something wrong)...
Jai ho!
Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky!

Drop by drop I have lost my life in faith
I’ve passed this night dancing on fiery coals
I blew away the sleep that was in my eyes
I counted the stars till my finger burned

Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky!

Taste it, taste it, this night is honey
Taste it, and keep it,
It’s a heart; the heart is the final limit
You dark black kohl
It’s some black magic, isn’t it?

Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky!

For how long, how very long
It’s been on your lips
Say it, now say it
The eye is downcast
Such lit up eyes
Are they two lit-up dimaonds?
Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky
Jai Ho!!!

Good luck Rahman for the Oscars!

Smile Pinki

Will Pinki smile?

Slumdog or Millionaire?

A R Rahman becomes the first Indian musician to win The Golden Globe Award. Slumdog Millionaire made merry at this years version of the awards and won four of them. Hoping this would have a similar effect at the Oscars Rahman said it would be an honour for India, not just for him. The film captures the throbbing pulse of Mumbai. It is about suffering, hope and redemption. If Rahman's music in SM has made an impact in the West, it’s because it’s projected effectively. Though some of the songs are in Hindi, nobody complained about them being boring or incomprehensible. Jai Ho, the song which has been nominated for The Golden Globe, O Saya ... and Ringa Ringa ... which are influenced by Choli Ke Peeche are, for them, in a foreign language, yet they loved it.

It’s the way director, Danny Boyle, has put the film together. All the artist in the movie come up with extraordinary performances, especially the kids. At present it is at # 10 of the top 10 hollywood flicks of the week. Hope it continues a golden run at the Academy Awards and Rahman would be able to bring home the much awaited Oscar.