India rejoiced as music composer A.R. Rahman and lyricist Gulzar won the best song Oscar for “Slumdog Millionaire,” the first for music by an Indian.Rahman, dubbed the ‘Mozart of Madras’, having worked with the leading tabla player Zakir Hussain, and composer Ilayaraja, also studied Western classical music at the Trinity College of Music in the U.K., according to his.

“I am very happy though not surprised,” Javed Akhtar, poet, lyricist and story writer for Hindi movies said from Mumbai. “Rahman is an international talent.”The best song prize was one of eight Oscars, including best picture, “Slumdog” won at the 81st Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, telecast today by Walt Disney Co.’s ABC.

Set in Mumbai and made for just $15 million, the movie beat bigger rivals like “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” a $150 million production starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. It also won Brit Danny Boyle the best director award. “Slumdog” centers on a young boy Jamal Malik, who grows through the squalor of a Mumbai slum and wins a 20 million rupees ($404,000) quiz show by tapping that humble past. The movie captures the never-say-die spirit of Mumbai.

“The awards will bring attention of people from across the world to Rahman’s music and Indian movies,” said Akhtar. Rahman also won for best original score for “Slumdog.” In his acceptance speech, Rahman thanked “all the people from Mumbai and the essence of the film, which is about optimism and the power of hope and our lives.”

Resul Pookutty of India, along with Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke won for best sound mixing. Born in January 1966, Rahman has sold 100 million albums of his works comprising themes from movies, according to his Web site. He won his first national award for “Roja” in 1993, a movie about a woman’s efforts to get her husband, an army officer, released from terrorists in Kashmir.

Rahman has won the best composer prize at British Academy Film Awards and the Golden Globe past two months, according to his web site. He was appointed global ambassador by the World Health Organization in 2004 in its campaign against tuberculosis.