Freida Pinto & Dev Patel walk the red carpet at Toronto Film Festival

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Freida Pinto and Dev Patel at the Premiere of “The Last Airbender”‎ - Photos

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In Pics: Dev Patel and Freida Pinto spotted at the London Fashion Week

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In Pics: Freida Pinto and Dev Patel Spotted in London

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In Pics: Dev Patel, Frieda Pinto make first public appearance

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Dev Patel, Freida duck papparazi

Multiple Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire" couple Dev Patel and Freida Pinto are avoiding being photographed together.

Following a romantic dinner in a New York restaurant, the stars left for their hotel but when the pair spotted waiting photographers, Dev made a comic run away, reports newstin.co.uk.

Seeing the funny side of it, Dev began laughing while making his dash, and Freida, 25, also appeared to be amused as they out-foxed the snappers and giggled away. Frieda sauntered on alone in a white butterfly T-shirt dress.

Rumours surfaced in February as "Slumdog..." mania swept the globe that Freida and Dev, 19, were more than just friends.

Their cover was blown, however, by co-star Anil Kapoor who revealed: "When I meet them, I feel there is something happening," before adding that the couple shared "a magical chemistry".

Dev has recently been in Philadelphia filming "The Last Airbender" while Freida is being chased by casting agencies for modelling and film work.

He is also rumoured to have been lined up to play a lead role in a Hindi remake of south Indian hit "Nadodigal".

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Dev Patel, Freida duck papparazi

Multiple Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire" couple Dev Patel and Freida Pinto are avoiding being photographed together.

Following a romantic dinner in a New York restaurant, the stars left for their hotel but when the pair spotted waiting photographers, Dev made a comic run away, reports newstin.co.uk.

Seeing the funny side of it, Dev began laughing while making his dash, and Freida, 25, also appeared to be amused as they out-foxed the snappers and giggled away. Frieda sauntered on alone in a white butterfly T-shirt dress.

Rumours surfaced in February as "Slumdog..." mania swept the globe that Freida and Dev, 19, were more than just friends.

Their cover was blown, however, by co-star Anil Kapoor who revealed: "When I meet them, I feel there is something happening," before adding that the couple shared "a magical chemistry".

Dev has recently been in Philadelphia filming "The Last Airbender" while Freida is being chased by casting agencies for modelling and film work.

He is also rumoured to have been lined up to play a lead role in a Hindi remake of south Indian hit "Nadodigal".

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'Jai Ho', 'Slumdog' in race to be millionth English word

'Jai ho', 'cuddies' and 'slumdog' are among the 73 other finalists from across the globe to become the millionth English word.

The Global Language Monitor, an Austin, Texas-based firm that analyses and catalogues the latest trends in word usage and word choices with a particular emphasis on English, will choose the millionth word on June 10 at 10.22 a.m. GMT.

At present, there are 999,927 words in their 'English language world clock'.

According to the firm's site languagemonitor.com, 'cuddies' - the Hinglish word for ladies underwear or panties; jai ho - used as a term of praise in Hindi that became popular through the Oscar winning "Slumdog Millionaire"; as well as slumdog - a disparaging description of slum dwellers - are all in the race to becoming the millionth word in the English language.

"The million word milestone brings to notice the coming of age of English as the first truly global Language," said Paul J.J. Payack, president and chief word analyst of the Global Language Monitor.

According to the site, owing to the "global extent of the English language, the millionth word is as likely to appear from India, China or East Los Angeles as it is to emerge from Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare's home town)".

Payack who authored "A Million Words and Counting" also said that there were three major trends involving the English language at present.

"First - an explosion in word creation - English words are being added to the language at the rate of some 14.7 words a day. Second is a geographic explosion where some 1.53 billion people now speak English around the globe as a primary, auxiliary, or business language. Third - English has become, in fact, the first truly global language."

Other English millionth word finalists are Australia's alchopops - sugary flavoured mixed drinks; bangster - a Polish combination of gangster and banker, de-friend - Internet lingo for no longer following a friends update on sites, sexting - texting of sexual content, quendy-trendy - British youth slang for hip and up to date, and mobama - relating to the fashion trends of US first lady.

Another word in the list is 'OK' - called "the most recognised English word on the planet".

Global Language Monitor has been tracking English word creation since 2003.

In Shakespeare's time, there were only two million speakers of English and fewer than 100,000 words. He himself coined about 1,700 words.

Former US president Thomas Jefferson invented about 200 words while George W. Bush created a handful, including misunderestimate. US President Barack Obama's surname passed into the word list last year with the rise of obamamania.

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Dev Patel desperate to remain a 'normal kid'

"Slumdog Millionaire" teenage star Dev Patel is so desperate to remain a "normal kid" that he still uses public transport in his native London.

The 17-year-old is re-adjusting to superstardom after his big screen debut in the multi-Oscar winning movie catapulted him into the spotlight and Patel refuses to let fame go to his head, and still uses London's underground tube trains to remain as grounded as possible, reports contactmusic.com.

"I've been meeting all these people I've watched for years on TV, and they actually know who I am. The other day I jumped on the tube, and all the faces in the carriage turned my way. I can't get used to that, man. I'm still pretty much a normal kid," he said.

He's also been following the advice "Slumdog" director Danny Boyle gave him after the success of the underdog drama.

"Danny said to take each day at a time, not to let it overwhelm me, and just be myself," he said.

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Where do Dev and Freida meet

Where do “Slumdog Millionaire” stars Dev Patel and his lady love Freida Pinto meet?

Any guesses? We are sure not many will get this one right.

Apparently, the secret meeting place between the two is a loo!

It seems during the promotion of “Slumdog Millionaire” in India, the duo would snatch some time between the interviews and get into the ladies' rooms of five-star hotels.

We know they were super busy then, but still! Moreover, at that time weren't they supposed to be “good friends only”?

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Freida and Dev are together

Ocar winning "Slumdog Millionaire" star Dev Patel's mother spoke of her son's off-screen love with his co-star, Freida Pinto, and said "life can't get better" for her son.

Dev and Freida (pictured above) have always denied their movie romance spilled over into real life. But their pictures enjoying an intimate lunch date in Israel last week raised eyebrows, reports mirror.co.uk.

"First it was the film and now everything else seems to have slotted into place. Life can't get any better for him. Freida is really beautiful and I am really happy for them. Yes, we knew he was flying to Israel to see her," Dev's mother Anita Patel said.

The couple are said to have started the relationship on the sets of Danny Boyle's film.

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Slumdog Millionaire - DVD Review

MOVIE DETAILS

Cast: Anil Kapoor, Dev Patel, Irrfan Khan, Frieda Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Rubiana Ali, Tanay Chheda, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar
Director: Danny Boyle
Producer: Christian Colson, Tessa Ross, Paul Smith
Music: A.R.Rahman
Lyrics: A R Rahman, Gulzar, Tanvi, Raqueeb Alam, Blaaze

THE FILM

Ok, so let's be honest about this one. Majority of us who watched the film and then formulated an opinion about Slumdog-Millionaire did so way before its theatrical release in India. Which simply translates into the fact that we saw it on a pirated DVD (or online 'unpaid' version). There is a good and a bad connotation to it.

Good - We all were quite excited about knowing what Slumdog Millionaire was all about and hence could hardly wait for it to arrive in theatres.
Bad - Because we not just contributed to piracy but also robbed the film of a few crores extra that it could have earned had it been seen directly in cinemas.

So why am I am talking about the relevance of buying the original DVD here rather than talking of Slumdog Millionaire - The Film! Because till date, every Ramu, Rani and Rambo has seen (or at least heard) what the film is all about and there is no single soul left on the planet earth (at the least the kind that loves to watch any movie with an Indian connect to it) who is unaware what Slumdog Millionaire is all about.

In fact I have an interesting anecdote to quote here. In my January trip to Far East Asia, I met a bunch of college going kids in a tube (train). I was with some friends of mine and was looking for directions. During the course of our conversation, I brought up the topic of Bollywood.

'Have you heard about Shah Rukh Khan?' Answer - 'No'
'Have you heard about Amitabh Bachchan?' Answer - 'No'
'Have you heard about Akshay Kumar?' Answer - 'No'
'Have you heard about Bollywood - The film industry from India?' Answer - 'India, the same country from which a film called Slumdog Millionaire is being talked about? Heard it has chances of Oscar nominations, am I right?'

All I could do was nod in admiration!

And this conversation was way before Oscar short listing was held! So yes, when the film had already reached every nook and corner of the film watching world, the buzz was pretty much palpable.

And why not? After all the film was (and continues to be) as euphoric as it gets with every right answer in the game show making you spill that popcorn. The narrative that oscillated between past and present was as innovative as it gets. Anil Kapoor's characterization too was as wicked as it gets. And the kids made you wonder if they should return in front of camera in quick time or should they complete their studies in next few years and then come back as matured human beings as well as professionals.

Of course there have been debates and there would be debates about the music of Rahman being the best ever by him that deserved the Oscars! Well, of course most Indians would agree that he has come up with better soundtracks in the past but the fact remains that at the end of the day, it is Slumdog Millionaire that has made him a household name.

So just for this very fact, even though it sounds as clichéd (and routine as well as predictable) as it gets, let's say 'Jai Ho' to that!

PACKAGING

Slumdog Millionaire comes in a soft box packaging. However, one expected it to be much lavish in appeal considering the film has won 8 Oscars for itself. However, that's not the case as on the stands, it is visible as just another DVD rather than anything which is exclusive.

DURATION

The film's duration is ~120 minutes

SPECIAL FEATURES

The film comes with the bonus features that include:

- The Making of the Film
- The Premier

Special Features are clearly disappointing in case of Slumdog Millionaire. The least one would have expected from this multiple Oscar winning film was 'Director's Commentary', some true 'Behind the Scenes' segments, glimpses of the actual production and 'Deleted Scenes'. However, none of that is included in the 'Special Features' which merely comes with a routine 'Making of the Film' segment where all you get to hear are mini interviews of Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan and Anil Kapoor with bytes from A.R. Rahman, Dev Patel and 'Frieda Pinto'.

Comparatively, there is still some excitement generated from the 'The Premier' segment since you get to see and hear a horde of celebrities talking about the film on the eve of the film's release in Mumbai. If you are star struck then this one belongs to not-to-be-missed category as you get to witness a huge range that goes as Anil Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Deepika Padukone, Genelia D'Souza, Sushmita Sen, Tusshar Kapoor, Chunky Pandey, Vidya Balan, Sonam Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Kirron Kher, Hrithik Roshan, Jiah Khan, Arshad Warsi, Ambanis, Zeenat Aman, Sridevi, Danny, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Neha Dhupia, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Gulshan Grover, Ranbir Kapoor, Preity Zinta, Saira Bano, Shabana Azmi and many more.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo

PRICE

Rs. 399/=

CONCLUSION

The point is plain and simple: We have seen the film on pirated DVDs; now let's do the film some favour and give it back what it truly deserves - 'Let's buy the original DVD'. Not just is the original DVD far better in picture quality, it also carries a much better sound quality; something that lends the film a much better cinematic experience.

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What’s next for SM’s Indian team

We take a look at what the Indian team of Slumdog Millionaire is doing after the film's Oscar wins.

A R Rahman: The only Indian to win two Oscars, Rahman’s upcoming Indian albums include Nagesh Kukunoor’s 8X10, Ashtvinayak’s Blue, Shankar’s Endhiran, Abbas Tyrewala’s 1-800-Love and Mani Ratnam’s Ravan. He also has an Indo-Japanese movie called Nair San starring Mohanlal and is in talks about composing for Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes’ next films.

Dev Patel: He has bagged M Night Shyamalan’s flick The Airbender. His role of Prince Zuko of Fire Nation, based on a popular Nickelodeon TV series, will require him to learn martial arts. Filming begins next month in Philadelphia.

Freida Pinto: She has bagged a Woody Allen film alongside Sir Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts and Josh Brolin. Shooting for the as-yet-untitled film begins in July.

Resul Pookutty: India’s first Oscar-winning sound technician has Saurabh Shukla’s romantic comedy Raat Gayi Baat Gayi and Sanjay Gupta’s stylised action thriller Acid Factory as his upcoming projects. He is also working on a Rajat Kapoor film and an untitled Hollywood flick.

Irrfan: The actor has another Indo-American venture, Hissss, starring Mallika Sherawat and Divya Dutta. The film is directed by Jennifer Lynch, David Lynch’s daughter. His other international project is New York, I Love You. Irrfan also has a summer release in the form of YRF’s New York, directed by Kabir Khan and starring John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Katrina Kaif. Then, there is Sanjay Gupta’s action thriller Acid Factory and drama Alibaug, Ambika Hinduja’s Teen Patti and rom-com Kal Kisne Dekha, among others.

Anil Kapoor: Race was one of the biggest hits of 2008 and Anil Kapoor will be part of its sequel. He will also start work on the sequel to Mr India. His home production Shortkut - The Con Is On, starring Sanjay Dutt and Amrita Rao, will release later this year.

Gulzar: The legendary lyricist-writer-director will be working with Vishal Bhardwaj on songs for his romantic comedy Ishqiya starring Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan.

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Slumdog Millionaire ki Jai Ho!

Slumdog Millionaire won its 7th Oscar in the form of Best Director for Danny Boyle and then its 8th Oscar for Best Film.

Legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg presented the Oscar to producer Christian Colson. The entire team of Slumdog Millionaire came up on stage from Anil Kapoor to Dev Patel to Loveleen Tandon to the child actors. Colson said, "It has been an extraordinary journey. When we started the film, we had no money, no stars, no power and no muscle. The script inspired mad love in us. We had a genius of a director, an untiring cast and crew, a shared love for Mumbai, where we shot the movie and a passion. I would like to thank my mum, dad, my girls and my partner in crime."

Slumdog has beat The Curious Case of Benjamin, The Reader, Frost/Nixon and Milk in the Best Picture race.

America's sweetheart Reese Witherspoon presented the award to Danny Boyle. A sprightly and hopping Danny Boyle came up on stage and accepted the award. He explained, "My kids are too old to remember now but when they were younger, I promised them I would accept the award like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. I would like to thank the Academy; you have been so generous to us tonight and you'll have put up a beautiful show, I don't know how it looks on TV but it looks wonderful here. I would like to thanks my kids and their wonderful mom, my dad and my sister. Everyone at Celador and Warner Bros. that got the entire cast and crew here. I didn't thank my choreographer in the end credits of Slumdog and I have been an idiot and I apologize for that and for ending an inseparable bond with Mumbai. You dwarf even the sky. I would like to thank all those who helped make Slumdog and all those who didn't."

Slumdog Millionaire has won a total of 8 Academy Awards out of the ten it was nominated for. Rahman won 2 Oscars for Best Song and Original Score, Chris Dickens won Best Editing, Resul Pookutty won for Sound Mixing, Anthony Dod Mantle won for Cinematography, Simon Beaufoy won for Best Adapted Screenplay, Danny Boyle won Best Director and Christian Colson won Best Film. Jai Ho!

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What's Happening in Bollywood

Danny Boyle and Dev Patel in Vanity Fair, Akshay Kumar on Complete Wellbeing, Flashy Kangana and more...

The Underdogs: Danny Boyle and Dev Patel have been featured in Vanity Fair's March issue in the article 'Something Just Clicked' which covers actors' partnerships with directors. Veterans like Kate Winslet, Sam Mendes, Clint Eastwood and other Hollywood bigwigs are also part of the same feature. The best part is that child actors Ayush Mahesh Khedekar and Tanay Chheda have also been mentioned.

Fit-Star: Super fit action superstar Akshay Kumar is on the cover of Complete Wellbeing's February issue.

Flashing! Kangana should keep her legs crossed at all the time; else we get a sneak peek at her light yellow panties. Why can't she wear tights underneath short dresses?

Conical Bra: The design on the top portion of Monica Bedi's gown makes it look conical ala Madonna's conical bra.

Beautiful in Blue: We love Maanyata's embroidered churidaar which flatters her long and lean frame. Manjari Phadnis looks like a pretty mermaid in this form-flattering, embellished gown and the blue eye shadow looks great.

Playing Politicians: Farhan Akhtar and Vivek Oberoi's bandh-gala outfits remind us of politicians. While both look good and very elegant, we aren't exactly happy with Farhan's slippers

No Place! Sohail Khan couldn't find a chair so he sat down by sisters Arpita and Alvira's side and watched the show

Same-Same: Sohail changed into these denim shorts from his olive green pants. Interestingly, Salman wore these for his performance at 9.35 PM and Sohail wore them at 9.45 PM. Quick change, we must say.

All Grown Up: The Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Parzania boy Parzan Dastur with director Sudhir Mishra and actor Sanjay Suri at a promotional shoot for Sikandar.

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More honours for Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle's acclaimed film "Slumdog Millionaire" has taken home two more major US film industry awards over the weekend, winning the top prizes from both the Screen Actors Guild and the Producers Guild of America.

Bollywood stars Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan, British Indian actor Dev Patel, and newcomer Freida Pinto received the overall cast prize for the Mumbai-set rags-to-riches saga at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday (January 25) night from Anthony Hopkins.

Anil Kapoor, accepting on behalf of the "Slumdog Millionaire" cast, dedicated the award to the slum children shown in the movie.

"They deserve this award. They set our performances," he said. "It's the children who've done it, not us."

The Oscar-nominated film tells the heart-warming story a young man from the slums of Mumbai who risks all for love and for a shot at instant wealth as a contestant on the Indian version of the TV game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire".

Patel, who plays the protagonist, and Pinto, his ladylove, introduced the film clip at the event.

"Slumdog Millionaire" also won the top prize from the Producers Guild of America on Saturday (January 24), giving it another boost in the race for the Oscars next month.

The top award from the Producers Guild of America or PGA goes to the movie's producer, in this case Christian Colson, whose previous feature credits consist of three relatively obscure thrillers.

Meanwhile, following its 10 Oscar nominations and expansion into more theatres, "Slumdog Millionaire" has jumped into the North American Top Five for the first time in its 11-week run with its weekend gross soaring by 80 percent to $10.55 million.

Now running in 1,411 theatres across America, up 829 from last weekend, the film has to date grossed a total of $55.92 million, according to the movie website boxofficeguru.com.

The Producers Guild award is considered an important bellwether for Oscar success as its members make up an important constituency of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which votes on the Oscars.

In its first 19 years, 12 of the PGA's top film picks went on to win the Academy Award for best picture, including last year's champion "No Country for Old Men" although the producers missed the mark for three straight years starting in 2005.

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Premiere of 'Slumdog Millionaire' - Video

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Slumdog bags 10 Oscar Nominations, Rahman 3

As expected, Slumdog Millionaire has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards at the 81st Academy Awards. Rahman has bagged 3 nominations for his compositions in the film.

A. R. Rahman is nominated for Best Original Score category where he competes with Danny Elfman (Milk), James Newton Howard (Defiance), Thomas Newton (Wall E) and Alexandre Desplat (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). And in the Best Song category, Rahman has been nominated not once but twice in the same category.

Director Danny Boyle is up against David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Gus Van Sant (Milk), Stephen Daldry (The Reader) and Ron Howard (Frost/ Nixon) in the fight for Best Director.

In the Best Picture category, Slumdog Millionaire is up against The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Milk, Frost/Nixon and The Reader

Simon Beaufoy's adapted screenplay is up against those of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Doubt and The Reader

Disappointingly Slumdog hasn't been nominated in any of the acting categories. But Dev Patel who plays Slumdog Jamal Malik is ecstatic. He says "Now that we have been nominated, I am sure we will win also. But every year so many good films are released and so I can just cross my fingers. Actually if Slumdog Millionaire has to win an Oscar then I think it should go to our directors Danny (Boyle) and Loveleen (Tandon) because Loveleen has only taught us about the culture."

Here is a list of all the categories Slumdog Millionaire has been nominated in:
Best Picture
Best Sound Mixing
Best Film Editing
Best Sound Editing
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Director
Best Original Score
Best Song: Jai Ho
Best Song: O Saya

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