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Times were tough and her prodigiously talented son, then known as A.S. Dileep Kumar, was barely 11 when he started performing in public. “It got to the point where I had to go take him out of school every day to take him to performances,” she recalls, speaking in Tamil, translated rapidly by Dileep Kumar a.k.a. Allah Rakha Rahman’s imperious 12-year-old daughter.

“He was in Class X. He told me I should either let him study or let him perform. We had to survive. He had to drop out of school,’’ recalls Kareema. “I will always regret it.”

What kept her going was what gives 43-year-old Rahman strength even today. Prayer and work. Influenced by a Sufi mystic, Karimullah Shah Qadri, in whom Kareema found solace as she battled her husband’s illness, she converted the family to Islam in 1987. That faith drives her son today, with everything from the door to his recording studio to his mobile number bearing the holy numbers 786.

The rags-to-riches story about a boy from one of the Mumbai’s teeming slums competing on a TV game show has been nominated for best director, best adapted screenplay and best picture at the Academy Awards, and in seven other categories.

“Rah Rah Rahman” screamed a front-page headline in the Times of India newspaper, a leading English-language daily, referring to the three Oscar nominations for the film’s Indian music composer, A.R. Rahman.

Hindustan Times, another English daily, dubbed it the “Perfect 10.”

The cast and crew of “Slumdog,” in Mumbai for the film’s Indian premiere on Thursday, seemed overwhelmed by the attention.

“It’s incredible isn’t it? For us to be here, premiering the film on the night of the Oscar nominations is just incredible,” producer Christian Colson told Reuters, shouting to be heard above the sound of traditional Indian drums and members of the cast dancing on the red carpet.

The honour bestowed on the maestro has brought much cheer to the Indian film industry.”The Golden Globe is a coveted award and it is a rare honour for an Indian music director. By winning it, competing with composers from around the world, Rahman has not only proved his worth, but has also conveyed to the world that, given a chance, an Indian music director can deservedly vie with any composer in the world,” fellow composer Anu Malik told.

Rahman won the prestigious award for his musical score in the song “Jai Ho”, for which Gulzar penned the lyrics. The song is a typical Rahman number and the composer stuck to his signature style while composing it.

Sukhwinder Singh, who has sung the song, told “Rahman has churned out treat songs even in the past but he did not get an award so I feel that he truly deserves this one. I am very happy for him and when he comes back to India, I will meet him.

A.R. Rahman won the Best Composer award as Mumbai-set hit film “Slumdog Millionaire” swept the 14th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards winning five top prizes including Best Picture of 2008.The film also won Best Director for British Director Danny Boyle, Best Writer for Simon Beaufoy, and Best Young Actor/Actress for British Indian actor Dev Patel.

Patel plays the protagonist in the film telling the heart warming story of an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who goes on to win a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” game show.

The awards were given out in Los Angeles Thursday night by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, which represents 200 of the top film critics across the United States.

The Critics’ Choice Awards have been a strong indicator of the Oscar front-runners with 70 percent of its award winners also going on to win at the Academy Awards. Last year, “No Country for Old Men” from Joel and Ethan Coen won Best Picture and Best Director from the BFCA and went on to win those same awards at the Oscars.

Starring Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Dev Patel, and Freida Pinto, the film is also nominated for four Golden Globe Awards which will be given out Sunday including Best Picture – Drama, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Score.

The title is inspired from the pin code of an area in Delhi , where the story is based. This area houses the historical Juma Masjid and Red Fort.

The story sees Roshan traveling from the USA to India with his ailing grandmother. Little does he know that this quick trip will turn into the longest journey of his life. Delhi-6 is told against the backdrop of the ancient walled city of Delhi.

“Maine Pyar Kiya” had a pigeon song that became popular and 20 years later Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has a dove song in his forthcoming film “Delhi-6″. He says it was not part of the original plan.”The song was not really meant to be part of the narrative. I mean, who would think of putting in a song about a dove in a film like ‘Delhi-6′? It just happened. When I came to the pre-climax portion of my script, I was stuck. I needed a continuity link taking the narrative to its finale,”

Mehra’s much talked-about “Delhi-6″ has a large cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek, Sonam Kapoor and Gulshan Grover as well as a dove named Masakali who serves as the romantic leitmotif in the plot.