Happy Rahman thanks mother, God at Oscars gala

Los Angeles, Feb 23 (IANS) "Ellapugazhum Iraivanukee" is what Allah Rakha Rahman or A.R. Rahman said in Tamil after accepting his first Oscar for best original score for "Slumdog Millionaire".

Translated to mean "May all praise be to the almighty", it is a line the music maestro always says after receiving an award.

After thanking God, he turned to his mother, who had accompanied him to the ceremony here.

"There is a dialogue from an old Hindi film - "Mere paas ma hai" - which means I have my mother. My mother is here, I have her blessings. I am glad she could be here," said an overwhelmed Rahman.

Rahman picked up two of the coveted awards for his best original score as also the best original song "Jai ho" from the film with lyrics by Gulzar and Sukhwinder Singh as the lead singer.

• Music News