The 81st Academy or should I say the 'Slumdog Millionaire' Awards did not stop paying homage to the film that's arguably dominated most of our headlines this past year.

With ten Oscar nominations and winning eight of them 'Slumdog Millionaire' solidifies itself as not only a cross over masterpiece, but one that transcends cultures to bring not only a great script, but music by Bollywood legend A.R. Rahman and the wonderful city of Mumbai, which was constantly praised by those who made the film, to the forefront of the world of entertainment.

Simon Beaufoy who accepted the award for Best Adapted screen play felt this film was destiny after uttering words that inspired him by those who wrote the story. "This is yours, take it to India." And musical genius A.R. Rahman made a valuable decision throughout his life which led him to this film. "All my life I had a choice of hate and love, and I chose love and I'm here, God Bless!"

Aside from blazing the stage with a performance of the songs 'Jai Ho' and 'O Saya,' A.R. Rahman took home two awards for Best Original Score, and Best Original Song for 'Jai Ho' with Gulzar.

The victory speech doesn't stop there, along with those wins, 'Slumdog Millionaire' also dominated the night by taking home 5 other awards including Best Cinematography thanks to Mumbai, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Film Editing and the most coveted awards of them all, Best Director and Best Picture.

Director Danny Boyle revealed the strange inspiration behind his success. "I told my kids I would receive this award in the spirit of tigger." Interesting choice of words Mr. Boyle. And Producer Christian Colson who accepted the award for Best Picture also had a confession for success. "We had passion and we had belief and if you have those two things truly anything is possible."

Other notable moments at The Academy Awards include actor Sean Penn winning the Best Actor award for his portrayal of gay activist Harvey Milk in the film so smoothly named 'Milk', and actor Mickey Rourke losing to him after reviving his acting career playing washed up wrestler Randy 'The Ram' Robinson in a film with another super slick name called 'The Wrestler'.

Other than that it's all about 'Slumdog Millionaire' in 2009. As if you haven't got enough of this film already. So what's next for India crossing over. Tell me what you guys think of 'Slumdog Millionaire' dominating the Academy Awards with eight wins.

As the two prepare for their date with Oscar on Feb. 22 (the film is nominated for 10 Academy Awards), here's some inside scoop on the young stars of the movie sensation.

1. They have beginners' luck
Patel and Pinto are movie newcomers; Slumdog is the first film for both. "It was actually the first film script I've ever read," says Patel, who had starred in the U.K. TV series Skins. "My track record's really spoiled now."

2. They had different first impressions
"She's absolutely stunning," Patel thought when he first met his costar. But now he can dish about the real Freida (whom he calls a "wicked buddy"): "She's super funny. In [public] she's very gracious. But she's quite the goof, she can poke fun at herself. And if someone dishes something out to her, she can give as good as she gets. She's not shy."

And Patel? "When I met him for the first time I was like, 'Oh, my god, he's a kid!' " Pinto recalls. "But I realized during the shooting of the film that as much as this boy is really funny and goofy, there's this really mature, sensitive side to him as well."

3. They have celebrity crushes
All the hoopla has brought Pinto face-to-face with her childhood crush,Leonardo DiCaprio. "In the eighth or ninth grade, I had a scrapbook with his face on it," she admits. "I [recently] met him at the Palm Springs Film Festival. It was fantastic. It was a crush back then; now it's just admiration for a fabulous actor."

For his part, Patel is partial to Hollywood beauties like Eva Mendes andRosario Dawson, and – crushes aside – hopes he gets to meet Will Smith. "He's one of my idols."

4. They have an Angelina connection
Irrfan Khan, the Indian megastar who plays the police inspector investigating Jamal's game show success, costarred with Jolie in A Mighty Heart. Patel used the connection on a red carpet. "I was like, 'Irrfan, make a beeline for Angelina! Tell her I want to say hi!' And he did," says Patel. "I didn't say much. I was just more looking in awe at Angelina Jolie ... I think she said 'great film' or something like that. It was a blur."

5. They still haven't chosen Oscar dates
Patel will probably take "my mum [Anita, an elder care worker]. She's my good luck charm." Pinto (who, like Patel, is single) is still deciding. "My mother [Sylvia, a school principal] can't really take a break because it's during board examinations." Pinto may not know who will escort her, but she's already prepping for the red-carpet walk. "I'm clumsy, so that's when I have to breathe, control, and just walk as straight as possible."

Slumdog Millionaire' now needs to win over the Indian judiciary.

The film has to challenge the allegation which says that the word 'Slumdog' from the film's title is abusive towards the people who live in the slums and so it needs to be changed. Cases also have been filed against actors Anil Kapoor, music composer A.R.Rahman and many other Indians.The petitioner Tapeshwar Vishwakarma alleges that Danny Boyle, the British director of the movie cannot be expected to do anything else as he hails from a country who have previously called Indians as dogs.

The Indians who have associated with the film are being viewed by Mr. Vishwakarma as people who mocked the life of slum residents for becoming famous and earn money. Mr. Vishwakarma is the general secretary of an organization called Jhuggi Jhonpdi Sanyukta Sangharsh Samiti.

The Censor Board has also been requested to not allow the release of the film on January 23 without the name being changed. The court has decided to go for the first hearing of the petition on February 5.