Rediff Entertainment Bureau

Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles.

The new Oscar "house" (as host Whoopi Goldberg later described), and venue of the 74th Annual Academy Awards. It's Oscar Night.

For Hollywood, the mother of all award shows.

For India, a special occasion -- Aamir Khan's debut production Lagaan, has been nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film. The third time that an Indian film has been nominated for an Oscar. The first was Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957). The second was Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay! (1988).

All awaiting anxiously, for "a little bit of magic", like actor Tom Cruise (of 2001's Vanilla Sky) said in the inaugural speech at the ceremony, to the 3,600-odd audience at the Theatre, and to millions around the world.

Enter host Whoopi Goldberg, on a trapeze, a la Satine (Nicole Kidman) in Moulin Rouge, singing Diamonds are a girl's best friend, in a flash of gold and tulle feathers.

Minutes later, Benicio Del Toro (last year's Oscar winner -- best supporting actor for Traffic), presents the Best Supporting Actress Award to Jennifer Connelly for her performance as the staunch, loyal wife of schizophrenic mathematical genius John Forbes Nash Jr, in Ron Howard's A Beautiful Mind.

An invitation by the president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences later, actor Will Smith (of Ali), announces Pietro Scalia as the winner for his 'alchemistic' work in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down, as the Best Edited film.

Artistes Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Philippe present the Best Achievement in Makeup Award to Peter Owen and Richard Taylor for their work in The Lord Of The Ring: The Fellowship Of The Rings, directed by Peter Jackson.